Second Chances
by ggfan10
Summary: After sleeping with Maxwell in London, Fran leaves the Sheffields for good. Four years later, they run into each other and are given a second chance to work things out. The only problem is, Fran's married.
1. Second Chances

**Second Chances**

* * *

 _After sleeping with Maxwell in London, Fran leaves the Sheffields for good. Four years later, they run into each other and are given a second chance to work things out. The only problem is, Fran's married._

* * *

As they laid there beside one another trying to catch their breaths Fran felt that familiar feeling of guilt begin to creep back in, the way it always did the moment she and Maxwell had finished making love. It felt so good and so right at the time, but the aftermath was always awful. Fran couldn't believe that she had become this person. Someone that would cheat on her husband with the man that despite her best efforts, had never wanted to marry her.

She turned to look at him and he met her gaze. "That was the last time," she told him firmly, pulling the sheet up over her chest to cover her naked body.

"That's what you said last time," he reminded her. "And the time before that..."

She scowled at him, "We shouldn't be doing this, Max. I'm married."

"I know," he answered with a frown. He hated when she reminded him of that fact. "But you still end up back in bed with me whenever you and your _husband_ aren't getting along."

Fran immediately noticed the contempt in his voice when he said the word 'husband'. She knew how jealous Maxwell got and she loved how crazy it made him that she was married to another man. Part of her wanted him to hurt a little, like he had hurt her when he took back telling her he loved her all those years ago.

"Who said we're not getting along?"

"You don't have to say it," Max said. "I know you, I can tell when you're upset."

"I'm upset because I'm an awful person that cheats on her husband with her former boss," Fran retorted with a sigh. "How did we let this happen so many times?"

He paused, before answering, "After that first time, all those other times just seemed to happen so easily."

Fran thought back to the night they had started their affair just over four months ago. She was supposed to meet her husband of two years for dinner, but he had stood her up at the last minute because he had to work late.

* * *

 _"David, I'm already at the restaurant. You couldn't have called me earlier to tell me you couldn't make dinner?" Fran hissed into her cellphone as she sat at the restaurant bar, a glass of champagne sitting in front of her._

 _"Fran I'm sorry, I really thought I was gonna get out of work in time," he replied. "You know I'd rather be there with you, but what am I supposed to do? I have patients that need me."_

 _She sighed, knowing that she couldn't exactly get mad about David's dedication to his job. He was a doctor and it was his job to help people - something that he loved to do. Unfortunately his job often came before their marriage. "I know," she told him. "It's fine, I'll see you at home." Then she hung up the phone, not giving him a chance to answer._

 _She put her phone back into her purse, before picking up her glass of champagne and taking a large sip. As she set her glass back down she heard a familiar voice call out to her._

 _"Miss Fine?"_

 _By the fact that he was being so formal with her and using her maiden name, Fran knew exactly who it was before she even turned around. Not to mention she would recognize that voice anywhere. She turned and locked eyes with the one and only Maxwell Sheffield. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him. He looked the same as she remembered. Maybe a little more grey hair, but then again it had been four years._

 _"Wow, nobody's called me that in a while," she commented._

 _"Oh?" he remarked in confusion._

 _Fran sheepishly held up her left hand and displayed her wedding ring to him, "It's Mrs Roberts now."_

 _She saw Maxwell's smile fall slightly, though he tried his best to hide it. He cleared his throat, before answering her, "Oh, you're married? I suppose congratulations are in order then. Who's the lucky man?"_

 _"His name is David," she told him hesitantly. It felt strange to talk about her husband with the man she used to be in love with. She couldn't help but add, "He's a doctor."_

 _"A doctor?" he repeated. "Jewish?" She nodded. "Your mother must be thrilled."_

 _"She is," Fran nodded once more. They were silent for a moment, then she told him, "It's good to see you, Max."_

 _He looked surprised that she had used his first name, but nevertheless responded, "It's good to see you too, Fran." They shared a smile, then he announced, "Anyway, I'll leave you to it. I'm sure you're waiting for someone."_

 _"I was waiting for my husband, but he got caught up at work."_

 _"Downside of being married to a doctor, huh?"_

 _"Tell me about it," she rolled her eyes. "What about you? Are you meeting someone?"_

 _"I just finished with a late meeting actually," Maxwell explained. "I was on my way out when I saw you sitting here. It would've been rude to not even say hello. It's been a long time."_

 _Fran nodded, "Four years."_

 _"Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday when you showed up on my doorstep selling cosmetics."_

 _She smiled at the memory. She patted the seat beside her, "Come on, sit down and have a drink with me. For old times sake." When he looked a little hesitant, she added, "Unless you have somewhere else to be?"_

 _"No, I just..."_

 _"What?"_

 _"I'm just surprised that you're being so friendly with me," Maxwell explained. "We didn't exactly leave things on the best terms."_

 _Four years ago after Fran had surprised Maxwell in London, they had spent a romantic day together and upon returning to their hotel room, had ended up sleeping together. Fran had initially been thrilled, but the next morning Max had tried to back peddle in their relationship once more. This had been the final straw for Fran. She immediately flew back to New York and moved out of the Sheffield mansion, so fast that her room was empty by the time Maxwell got home. What hurt Fran the most was that he didn't come after her. She had left plenty of times before and he always tracked her down and convinced her to come back to him. But the one time it really counted, he hadn't even tried._

 _"That was a long time ago Max," she reminded him, pushing aside all those terrible memories. "Come on, I want to hear what you've been up to for the last four years."_

 _He sat down on the bar stool beside her and remarked, "Like you don't already know. I know you still see the children upon occasion." He signalled for the bartender to come over to them and ordered a glass of scotch on the rocks._

 _"We don't talk about you. We have more exciting things to talk about," Fran responded teasingly, nudging his side._ _He glared at her playfully. "Seriously though, they don't say much about you when we catch up."_

 _"They don't?"_

 _She shook her head, "I guess they probably think I don't want to know what you're up to." She paused, before asking him, "They didn't tell you I got married?"_

 _The bartender set his drink down in front of him and he quickly took a sip, relieved to have some liquid courage for the first conversation he had had with his former nanny in four years. He then confessed, "No, I knew. I don't know why I acted like I didn't."_

 _She giggled, "You're not supposed to tell me that."_

 _"I'm a terrible liar," he reminded her. After taking another sip of his drink, he stated, "I don't recall Niles or the children receiving an invitation to your wedding."_

 _"That's because nobody received an invitation," Fran explained. "We eloped."_

 _"You eloped?" he repeated in surprise. "That doesn't seem like you."_

 _She shrugged, "At the end of the day, we didn't care about the big, fancy wedding. We just wanted to be married."_

 _"How did your mother react?"_

 _"Her reaction was mixed," Fran chuckled. "She was thrilled that I was finally married, but she hated that she didn't get to be apart of it."_

 _"You didn't even have your parents there?" Max asked, again extremely surprised at what he was hearing._

 _She shook her head, "Nope, it was just us on the beach in Hawaii at sunset. Oh, and Val and Fred were there as witnesses."_

 _"Fred?"  
_

 _"Val's husband."_

 _"Val's married too?"_

 _Fran replied, "Don't act so surprised. They're actually perfect for each other. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed either, if you know what I mean."_

 _"Ah, I see," he nodded._

 _One glass of liquid courage quickly turned into four. To Maxwell's surprise, Fran had kept up with him drink for drink._

 _When the bartender set their fifth drinks down in front of them, Max asked her, "Are you sure you can handle another one of these?"_

 _"Excuse me?" she asked, feeling quite offended. "I'll have you know, I can handle my liquor a lot better now."_

 _"Is that so?"_

 _"That is so," she nodded, taking a big sip of her wine to prove her point. She sat her drink back down on the bar, before raising her arms up in the air and announcing, "See? I'm perfectly f- ahh!"_ _And suddenly, she was on the floor._

 _"Fran," he called out in concern, trying to stifle a laugh at the sight of her sprawled on the floor. He quickly hopped up off the bar stool and helped her up, "Are you okay?"_

 _"I'm fine," she responded, drawing out the word 'fine' in a way that proved that she had definitely had more than enough to drink that night. "My tuchus, on the other hand, is not," she remarked, wincing at the sore spot on her backside that would no doubt turn into a bruise._

 _Max saw the bartender begin to approach them with a concerned look on his face. "Don't worry, I'm taking her home," he assured him._

 _"What? No, I'm fine," Fran insisted once more, reaching for her drink. To her annoyance, Maxwell pushed it away from her. "Hey!"_

 _"Let's go," he announced, setting a couple of bills down on the bar to pay for their tab, before grabbing Fran's purse in one hand and her hand in the other._ _He led her out of the restaurant and out onto the busy New York City street._

 _She huffed in annoyance, "We didn't have to leave you know. I'm not drunk."_

 _"You could've fooled me."_

 _"I'm not, I'm perfectly fine. I just fell off the stool, it could happen to anybody."_

 _Max couldn't help but laugh at her explanation. "Come on, let's get you home. Do you remember where you live?"_

 _Fran placed her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Of course I remember where I live! But I don't want to go home."_

 _"Well we're not drinking any more tonight, that's for sure," he told her._

 _"We don't have to drink, I just don't wanna go home."_

 _"Why not?"_

 _"Because I'll be alone," she confessed. "David works a lot. I'm always by myself."_

 _Maxwell's heart broke a little at her confession. "Well he has an important job," he reminded her. "He's helping people."_

 _She sighed, dramatically rolling her eyes, "I know, he's saving lives so I can't even complain about it without sounding completely selfish."_

 _"It's not selfish to want your husband to come home every now and then."_

 _"Yes it is."_

 _"It's not, he should make time for you too."_

 _Fran nodded, "He should, shouldn't he?"_ _Before Max could answer, her cellphone rang in her purse that he was still holding. "My phone!" she exclaimed._

 _He handed her the purse and she checked the caller ID, before making a face, "It's David." She put the phone to her ear with a sigh, "Yes?" Maxwell looked on as she listened to what her husband had to say. "Oh you're working even later tonight? What a surprise!" She paused once more, "No I'm not drunk...well maybe a little, but that's none of your business." She listened briefly again before announcing, "Whatever, call me when you actually have time for your wife." And with that, she hung up. She looked back to Maxwell, "Sorry about that."_

 _"Don't worry about it."_

 _Her eyes drifted from the Englishman to the hotel just up the street from where they were standing. She looked back to Max and asked, "Do you feel like doing something really stupid?"_

 _Twenty minutes later, they burst into the hotel room, kissing passionately and ripping their clothes off one another as fast as they could. After a moment Maxwell sobered up slightly, realising what they were about to do. He broke off the kiss, "Fran, wait."_ _She looked to him questioningly. He explained, "We can't do this, you're married."_

 _A look of shock appeared on her face as she suddenly realised what she was doing. She was cheating on her husband. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, sitting down on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands. "What am I doing?"_

 _He sighed, before sitting down beside her, "Look, we're a little drunk and drunk people don't often make the best decisions."_

 _It was her turn to sigh as she looked over at him. After a brief moment of silence, she asked him, "Have you ever felt like you made a big mistake in your life? A huge mistake that you can't come back from?"_

 _He nodded slowly, the alcohol in his system making him admit to her, "That's how I feel about letting you walk out of my life four years ago."_

 _Fran's eyes filled with tears at his confession, "Max..."_

 _"I'm sorry," he said. "I know there's no point in bringing up things that happened so long ago."_

 _She smirked, "It's actually quite satisfying to know that you regret what happened between us. I kinda love that it's still eating you up inside."_

 _"That's a little harsh," he remarked, causing her to giggle. "But I probably deserved that."_

 _After a pause, she asked softly, "Why did you do it, Max? Why did you let me leave after that fight we had in London?"_

 _Max looked to her, surprised that she was asking him this question. "I don't know, I guess I was just scared," he told her._

 _Fran looked puzzled, "Scared of what? I would never have hurt you."_

 _"No, it wasn't like that. I never thought you'd hurt me," he assured her, taking her hand in his. "I wanted you for so long and when I finally had the chance to be with you, I panicked at the thought of having something to lose again. I'd already lost one woman I loved, I couldn't risk losing you too."_

 _"But you did lose me."_

 _"I know, and that's something I have to live with for the rest of my life."_

 _Fran was silent for a moment, trying to control the strong urge inside her to kiss him and tell him that he hadn't lost her. She knew she couldn't do the latter. Max had lost her, she was someone else's wife now. But she could still do the other thing she wanted to do. She looked at him for a second longer, before climbing onto his lap so she was straddling him. For a moment, they could forget the world around them and pretend that it was four years ago again in that London hotel room._

 _He gave her a bewildered look, "Fran, what-"_

 _"Shhh," she hushed him. "Please don't say anything. Just kiss me." And with that, she pressed her lips to his and he was officially lost to her advances for the night._

* * *

"I was drunk that night Max," Fran reminded him. "I was a little upset with David for standing me up, but the alcohol made it a lot bigger deal than it really was. We made up the next day."

"After you spent the whole night before having sex with me," he pointed out.

"That's...beside the point."

"What are we doing here, Fran?" Maxwell asked her, sitting up and leaning against the headboard of the bed. She did the same. "You keep on defending David and claiming that you're so in love with him, but then you come running back to me over and over again. What do you want from me, exactly?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. I don't know what I want anymore."

He frowned, before proceeding to get out of bed to gather his clothes. "Well when you figure it out, let me know," he told her coldly.

"Max..." she started, not knowing how she was even going to finish that sentence. She watched as he finished putting his clothes back on, before sitting down on the side of the bed to put on his shoes. When he had finished tying one shoe and had moved on to the next one, she shifted closer to him and rested her chin on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

He stopped what he was doing and turned to her, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Fran," he told her, like he had been doing often over the last couple of months. She could never bring herself to say it back, even though she knew that it was how she felt. "I know you don't love David."

"Of course I love David, he's my husband," she told him gently. "I wouldn't have married him if I didn't love him."

"But you don't love him the way you love me," Max reminded her bluntly. Fran knew he was right, but her pride wouldn't let her admit that out loud. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, "Just think about that, will you?" She nodded silently as he stood up and left the room, leaving her alone once more.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	2. What Happened in London

**Second Chances**

 _Chapter 2 - What Happened in London_

* * *

Fran tried to hold back her tears as David slammed the front door of their townhouse on his way out to go to work. They had just gotten into another huge fight about his work schedule after he had picked up a shift at the hospital on a day he had promised to spend time with her. Fran had completely blown up at him, which led to a huge screaming match, which finally ended with David leaving to go to the hospital.

She allowed herself to cry for a few minutes, feeling hurt and extremely frustrated that her husband hadn't put her first yet again. She eventually pulled herself together, before grabbing the cordless phone from the coffee table in their living room and starting to dial a number that she knew by heart- Maxwell's business line.

Halfway through dialling, she hung up. Fran reminded herself that she couldn't run to Max whenever her and David had an argument. But at the same time, her heart ached to speak to him. She always felt so much better after talking to Maxwell. Against her better judgement, she picked up the phone and dialled the number once more. Fran hoped that he would pick up. It was Saturday afternoon, but she knew he often retreated to his study in the afternoon on the weekends to get some work done.

"Maxwell Sheffield," he answered the phone, using his refined business tone.

After a moment of hesitation, Fran greeted him with a soft, "Hi." She nervously added, "It's Fran."

To her surprise, he chuckled, "I know. I would know that voice anywhere."

"Hey!" she remarked, only really half-offended by his comment.

This made him laugh once more. When his laughter had died down, Max asked, "So what can I do for you, Fran?"

She shook her head with a sigh, "I don't know, I just wanted to hear your voice." After a beat she added, "Something no one has ever said to me, I might add."

"I always want to hear your voice."

"Liar."

"I do," Maxwell insisted. She smiled to herself, knowing that he was being sincere. At her silence, Max began to worry. Fran was never this quiet. "Is everything okay?"

"No, but I shouldn't be talking to you about it."

"Did you have another fight with David?"

"...maybe."

There was another brief moment of silence, until he responded, "You know, I'm a really good listener."

"Max, I can't come to you whenever I have a fight with my husband. It's not right," Fran told him.

"You called me," he reminded her in confusion.

She groaned, resting her head in her hands in frustration, "Uh I know, okay? I know!"

Max sighed, "Do you want to come over? No one's here, I have the house to myself this weekend."

"No, we'll just end up having sex."

"And that's a bad thing because...?"

"Because I'm married," she finished.

"Well we've done it before, isn't the damage already done?" Max asked with a smirk.

Fran bit her lip as she thought for a moment. He did have a point. They had already been having a four month long affair, what was one more night going to do? "Fine, I'm coming over," she decided, hanging up the phone before he could respond. She quickly grabbed her purse and headed out.

* * *

When Fran arrived at the Sheffield mansion a little while later, she felt a bit apprehensive. She hadn't been back to the house in years. Even though her and Maxwell had reconnected a few months ago, she still hadn't been over there. When they met up, it was either at her place or somewhere neutral like a hotel. The last thing Fran wanted was for Niles or CC, or even worse one of the kids to find out about their affair. But since Max had the house to himself that weekend, she figured there was no harm in coming over.

She rang the doorbell, feeling a little strange as she did so. The last time she rang that doorbell would've been the day she and Maxwell met, when she was a door-to-door cosmetics girl. After a moment, the door opened and there he was with a smile on his face.

"You're answering your own door," she observed as she stepped inside. "There's something you don't see every day."

"Well Niles is out of town until Monday," he explained, shutting the door behind her. He then gave her a quick kiss and asked, "How are you?"

Fran sighed, beginning to take off her coat, "I'm okay." She handed it to him and he hung it up in the closet. "How are you?"

"Better, now that you're here," he told her, taking her by the hand. "Do you mind if we move this to the kitchen? I have some bolognese sauce on the stove."

She gave him a surprised look as he led her out of the foyer, "First you answered your own door and now you're cooking? What backwards world have I stumbled into?"

"I can cook you know," Maxwell remarked. "Just because Niles cooks for me all the time, doesn't mean I don't know how to cook. I just don't have time to."

"Mm-hm, I'll be the judge of that once I taste this meal you're whipping up for me," Fran replied as they entered the kitchen.

He let go of her hand and made his way over to the fridge, "Can I get you a glass of wine?"

"Yes please," she nodded appreciatively. "I need it after the afternoon I've had." She watched as he took two wine glasses out of one of the kitchen cupboards and poured them each a glass of white wine. When he made his way over to the stove to check on the sauce, she asked, "Can I help you with anything?"

"You're not doing anything tonight. I'm cooking for you," Max responded. He gestured to the stools that sat behind the kitchen bench. "Just relax, I've got everything under control."

Fran shrugged, taking a seat with her glass of wine in hand, "Alright, if you insist." She couldn't help but find him so very sexy right now. There was something about a man cooking for her that she found irresistible. She was definitely Sylvia Fine's daughter. "You know, you look good in the kitchen," she commented, causing him to look up at her. "I think you missed your calling."

"I don't know about that," he chuckled. "But I do make an excellent bolognese sauce."

"Is that so?"

"It is," he nodded. "You'll see for yourself shortly."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, as Maxwell began to cook the spaghetti to go with the pasta sauce. Fran sipped on her wine, enjoying this moment of domesticity they were sharing. For a moment she could almost pretend that they were a real couple, about to share a romantic dinner for two at home together.

Once the spaghetti was in the pot, he left it to cook and returned to Fran's side, picking up his glass of wine and raising it to make a toast, causing her to do the same. "To us," he announced, clinking his glass against hers.

"To us," she repeated, as they both took a sip. "So where are the kids tonight?"

"Brighton's in Los Angeles with some of his college friends for a couple of days and Grace is spending the night at Maggie and Michael's place," he explained.

"I see. I still can't believe you let Maggie get married so young," Fran commented.

"Well I didn't have much of a choice in the matter," Max frowned. "I could either be supportive of their marriage, or have my eldest daughter never speak to me again."

"Michael seems like a good guy, I think they'll be okay."

"I hope so," he sighed. "I still worry they were too young to make such a big commitment to one another."

"Well not everyone is as afraid of commitment as you are," Fran commented without thinking. She cringed, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't be sorry. You're not exactly wrong." Maxwell shrugged.

"I wasn't trying to start anything," she began. "I think I'm still a little tense from fighting with David earlier." He nodded, immediately looking away from her at the mention of her husband. Why did she always have to remind him that she was married? Seeing the change in his demeanour, she commented, "Sorry, I know you hate it when I talk about him."

"I just don't like to be reminded of the fact that you're married to someone who isn't me," he told her, his honesty surprising the both of them. He made his way back over to the stove and began stirring the sauce. Anything to avoid making eye contact with Fran.

She followed him to the stove, "I don't know how you expect me to respond to that. I am married, that's the reality here."

He sighed deeply, "I know. Believe me, I know."

At the sad look on his face, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around his waist. When she felt him put his free arm around her, she smiled, resting her head against his chest. It was all she could do to comfort him right now. Fran knew she was someone else's wife and she couldn't do or say anything to change that fact at this present moment. But she could show Max that while she was in this house tonight, she was all his. No one else existed in this world, it was just the two of them.

After standing there for another couple of minutes, Max kissed her on the forehead and announced, "I think this is ready. Why don't you go take a seat in the dining room and I'll serve?"

"Okay," she smiled, raising herself up on her tiptoes so she could kiss him deeply.

"What was that for?" he asked, looking a little surprised at the intensity of her kiss.

She shrugged, giving him another quick kiss, "Just because. Now hurry up with the food, I'm starving!" She giggled, patting him on the butt, before grabbing their glasses of wine and making her way back into the dining room

* * *

"Well, that was delicious Mr Sheffield," Fran smiled, purposely calling him by his last name as she rested her fork on her empty plate.

"Why thank you, Miss Fine," he responded teasingly.

"I'll admit, I didn't really believe you when you said you knew how to cook," she revealed. "But you certainly proved me wrong tonight."

"Good, I do find proving you wrong to be very satisfying," Maxwell smirked.

"You know what I find very satisfying..." she started suggestively.

He raised an eyebrow, "Do tell."

"I'd rather show you..."

"Well I certainly wouldn't object to that," he told her, leaning in to kiss her.

Breaking off the kiss, Fran sighed contently, before asking him, "Where was this Maxwell four years ago? You're so relaxed and happy. What changed?"

"Honestly, back then I think I just didn't appreciate what I had right in front of me," he told her. "After four years of living without you, I cherish every moment we have together. I never know if it will be our last."

"What do you mean?"

"I just...I don't really know what to expect from this situation," Maxwell admitted. "I feel like I'm always waiting for you to decide that you're done with me and end things between us."

"I don't think I'm ever going to be done with you Max," Fran replied. "If spending years apart didn't make me get over you, I don't think anything will."

"You didn't get over me?" he asked in confusion.

"Well obviously not."

He gave her a puzzled look, "But you married somebody else. How could you have done that if you were still in love with me?"

Fran paused for a moment. She really hoped she could avoid discussing the circumstances surrounding her and David's marriage with Maxwell, but it didn't seem like she was going to be able to. "There's something you don't know about why David and I decided to get married," she started hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You said you were together for a year before he asked you to marry him."

"But I didn't tell you exactly _why_ he asked me to marry him," she clarified.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry darling, I'm not following you."

"I was pregnant," Fran told him.

Maxwell's eyes widened in surprise, "Pregnant? But you don't have- oh." He wanted to kick himself at how long it took him to process what she was trying to tell him. He took her by the hand, "God, I'm so sorry Fran. I had no idea."

"No one did," she said. "Well except for Val and Fred, that's why they were the only ones at the wedding." She paused, before continuing, "As soon as I told David I was pregnant, he wanted to get married. So we got Val and Fred on board and immediately flew out to Hawaii to make things official. We were going to wait a month to tell people and try to pass it off as a honeymoon baby, but before we could do that..."

"You lost the baby," he finished. "That's awful. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you. I know how much you've always wanted to be a mother."

"It was hard," she nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek. "But the worst part was knowing that David only married me because I was pregnant. Then once that was gone, he was just stuck with me for no reason. That proposal didn't come from love, it was out of obligation."

"I'm sure that's not true," Maxwell argued. "David married you because he loves you. I mean, how could he not?"

Fran scoffed, "Yeah how could he not love me? His wife that's cheating on him while he's at work saving lives?"

"Fran..."

"I made a mistake, Max."

"I know, us sleeping together-"

She interjected, "Not that. I would never consider us to be a mistake. Inconvenient, yes. But definitely not a mistake. It was a mistake to marry David."

"Are you sure this isn't just the wine talking?" Maxwell asked.

Fran shook her head and insisted, "It's not the wine. I love _you_ Max, I always have. I shouldn't have given up on us so easily in London."

"You didn't do anything, it was all my fault," he said. "I pushed you away, what choice did you have but to give up on us?"

"But if I just gave you a little more time-"

"No, this is on me," Maxwell interrupted her. "I shouldn't have tried to take back what happened between us in London. I should've told you how much I loved you. I should've fought for you. I should've-"

"Shhh," she hushed him as she could see he was starting to get upset. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Fran began to think about that night in London all those years ago. She knew Maxwell was probably doing the same.

* * *

 _Fran awoke early in the morning, somehow sensing that she was now sleeping in an empty bed. She sat up, looking to the other side of the bed in confusion. Her eyes drifted to the bedside table, where the alarm clock read 5:36- and found a piece of paper with her name on it, in Maxwell's handwriting. She leant over and grabbed the note, unfolding it to reveal the message inside._

 _It simply stated that he had gone for a walk and would be back soon. Fran noted that he had simply ended the note with a 'Maxwell'. No 'love', not even a 'from'. It was so impersonal, he may as well have signed the note with 'Mr Sheffield'. She immediately had a really bad feeling about the status of her and her boss' relationship. Deep down, she knew he was spiralling and it wouldn't be long before he attempted to take back what had happened between them last night._

 _She sighed, tossing the note in the trash before laying back down and trying to get back to sleep. But she was far too worried to sleep, spending the next half an hour going through scenario after scenario in her mind about what would happen when Max returned to their hotel room._

 _The door to the suite opened just after 6am and Maxwell entered the room, looking deeply conflicted. Fran sat up from where she was lying in the bed and greeted him softly, "Hey. Is everything okay?"_ _He took a deep breath as he approached her, taking a seat on the bed beside her. When he remained silent, she commented, "You were up early this morning."_

 _"I know, I couldn't sleep," he told her. She reached for his hand, interlocking her fingers with his own. She heard him sigh at this gesture and immediately started feeling nervous. She could tell there was something bothering him and she had a feeling she was about to find out what it was. He looked to her and started, "Listen Miss Fine...I think we need to talk about what happened last night."_

 _Fran raised her eyebrows in surprise and repeated, "Miss Fine?" She immediately let go of his hand and asked, "After what we did last night, you're still calling me Miss Fine?"_

 _"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," he said. He hesitated for a moment, before continuing, "What happened last night...I think we crossed a line that we never should've crossed."_

 _His words were like a knife to her heart. She knew she should've seen this coming, but she really thought things would be different this time. This wasn't just a spur of the moment declaration of love when they thought they were moments away from death. They had made a conscious decision to take the next step in their relationship by being intimate with one another- or so Fran had thought._

 _"You're taking it back," she said softly. "I can't believe this- you're trying to take back sleeping with me."_

 _"Fran please, listen to me-"_

 _"No, I think I've listened to you long enough actually," she interrupted him, getting out of the bed._

 _He attempted to speak once more, "You don't understand, this is a complicated situation-"_

 _"Oh I understand, believe me I do!" Fran exclaimed, making her way towards the dresser to retrieve her clothes. She noticed him follow her and turned back around, "Just leave me alone! As soon as I pack my bags, I'll be out of your hair- forever."_

 _"That's not what I want," Maxwell insisted. "If you'd just let me speak, I was going to say that I think we can come back from this and still be friends. I know it may be awkward at first-"_

 _"I don't want to be your friend," she interjected. "And I sure as hell don't want to be your nanny anymore!" She turned back to the dresser and began to quickly toss her clothes into her suitcase._

 _He remained silent for a moment, watching as she continued to empty the dresser drawers as fast as she could. "So that's it, then?" he asked. "You're just going to walk right out of mine and children's lives?"_

 _Fran abruptly turned back to him, "Don't you dare try to use guilt on me! I love those kids. I've devoted the last four years of my life to raising them and I'll always be there for them, no matter what. It's you I'm leaving, not them!"_

 _"You're leaving because I'm not down on one knee proposing marriage after what we did last night," he responded. "That's what you were expecting, wasn't it?"_

 _"What I was expecting was a little respect!" she exclaimed. "Do you think this is something I do all the time? Using up all my frequent flyer miles to fly across the world to show a guy how much he means to me?" She sighed, lowering her voice before continuing, "I care about you, Max. You've become the most important person in my life over the last four years and I thought you felt the same way about me- but I guess not."_

 _"Of course I feel the same way," he told her. "But I can't get romantically involved with someone again... I've done it before and all it got me was a world of pain."_

 _Fran immediately felt herself start to get angry once more. "Are you kidding me?" she scoffed. "I know you lost Sara and I can't imagine how painful that was for you. But you still had all those years of happiness with her. Plus you've got three amazing kids to show for it. Are you telling me it wasn't all worth it?"_

 _Maxwell sighed deeply, before responding, "I can't give you what you want, Fran." He took her hands in his and continued, "I know you want to get married and have children and you deserve to have all of that. I just can't be the man to give it to you."_

 _Her eyes filled with tears at his confession. Deep down, she knew that he had always felt that way, but to hear him say it was just devastating. "You know what?" she began, wiping away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. "The sad thing is you could've been the man who gives those things to me. This could've turned into something really amazing, I'm sorry that you can't see that." She pulled her hands out of his and announced, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to change then I'll be on my way."_

 _She grabbed a change of clothes from her suitcase and took off towards the bathroom, trying to suppress her sobs as she did so. All she wanted to do was cry, but she didn't want him to see her so upset over him. She locked the bathroom door behind her and quickly took off her nightie, before starting to put on her clothes as quickly as possible._

 _Maxwell made his way over to the bathroom door, "Fran please, I don't want to leave things like this."_

 _A moment later, the door opened and she reemerged- this time fully dressed and ready to leave. "Save it, I don't want to hear it," she told him. She stormed past him and back over to her suitcase, throwing the remainder of her things inside it. She quickly zipped up her suitcase, then opened the door to the suite. She turned back to her boss once more and said, "Goodbye Maxwell, have a nice life." And with that she left, slamming the door behind her._

* * *

Max could recall the sound of that door slamming like it was yesterday. It was the sound of the woman he loved walking out of his life. Until that night a couple of months ago when by chance, they both happened to be at the same restaurant. He finally had a second chance with the one that got away- the beautiful woman in his arms at that very moment. The only thing standing between them and their happiness was that damn wedding ring on her finger.

He pulled back from the hug and announced, "I'm sorry, Fran. My fears cost us our future, I'm painfully aware of that now."

Fran sighed, "We just weren't meant to be. If we were, we would've ended up together. But that just wasn't in the cards for us."

"Then how do you explain life bringing us back together like this?"

"It's called an affair. And I'm a terrible person for letting it go on for so long."

"I'll admit, what we've been doing isn't exactly moral," Maxwell started. "But if I'm being honest, I've been happier in these last few months with you than I've been in a very long time."

She couldn't help but smile at his confession, before leaning in to give him a quick kiss. "I feel the same way," she admitted, resting her forehead against his. "But that doesn't make it right."

"Does David make you happy, Fran?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, before answering, "He used to, once upon a time. Lately, not so much. But regardless of the circumstances that led to our marriage, I made a commitment to stand by him no matter what. I need to honour that."

"At the expense of your own happiness?"

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you I'm gonna leave my husband?"

Maxwell replied, "Ideally, yes. But you're not going to, are you?"

Fran shook her head, "I don't know anymore. I don't know what I want or what I don't want. I'm completely confused- something that always happens whenever you're in my life." They sat in silence for a moment, until she added, "I think I just need some time."

He nodded, "Take all the time you need."

* * *

 **The next chapter will be coming soon...in the meantime please leave a review :)**


	3. The Getaway

**Second Chances**

 _Chapter 3: The Getawa_ y

* * *

Fran's was in the kitchen cooking dinner when the phone began to ring. She reached for it, putting the phone to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hello stranger," Maxwell responded.

"Max, you shouldn't be calling me on the landline," she hissed. "What if David had answered?"

"Is he home?"

"No," she admitted. "But he could've been."

"Then I would've hung up," he told her. "Besides, you called me at home last week."

"I called your business line," Fran reminded him.

"Still, one of the children could've answered. Or Niles or C.C."

She sighed, "Was there a point to this phone call, or were you just calling to piss me off?"

"No, there was a point to this call," Max chuckled. "More than one, actually. Firstly, I hadn't heard from you in over a week. I was worried."

"I was taking some time to think about everything. Like we talked about," she explained.

"And?"

"And I'm still confused," Fran told him. "This is a big life decision that can't be made in a week."

"I know, I'm just eager to finally be with you," he said. "Assuming that you want to be with me once you're done with your...thinking."

She sighed, before changing the subject, "So, what was the other point of this call?"

"Well, I've also been thinking," he began. "I want to take you on a trip. Somewhere we can actually be together in public without worrying about someone we know seeing us. Do you think we can pull it off without anyone finding out?"

The thought of being all alone with Maxwell somewhere where nobody knew who they were intrigued Fran. They could be a couple for a few days and see if they worked in a real relationship. "Do you have somewhere in mind?" she asked.

"One of the backers for my latest play was telling me about this bed and breakfast he and his wife go to a couple of hours out of the city," he explained. "Very secluded and very romantic. What do you say?"

"David's going to be at a conference in Florida next week," Fran informed him. "Do you think you can take a couple of days off work?"

"For you, of course," Maxwell replied.

She smiled, "Well then I think I can squeeze you in."

"Good," he remarked. "I'll make the arrangements tomorrow and call you with the details."

"Okay," she answered. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

"Where are you going?" Grace asked as she watched her father finish packing his overnight bag.

"I told you, I have to go meet a writer about a play that I'm interested in optioning," Maxwell explained. He hated lying to his children, but he couldn't very well tell his youngest daughter he was taking her former nanny to a bed and breakfast for a couple of days.

"Is Miss Babcock going with you?"

"No, she's staying here to hold down the fort while I'm gone," he told her, zipping up his bag. "I'll be back on Friday afternoon. If you need anything, I'll have my cellphone with me."

"Do you really need four whole days to check out this guy's play?" Gracie asked in confusion. "That seems like a lot."

"Well I want to be thorough," Max said. "I'm going to be spending a lot of money on this play, I want to make sure it's good."

She shrugged, "Fair enough."

He gave the teenager a kiss on the cheek, "Behave while I'm gone. No wild parties."

"Niles will be here, do you really think he's gonna let me have a party?" she chuckled.

"Niles can be bought," he remarked with a sigh.

Grace gave him an intrigued look, "Really?"

"Don't get any ideas," Max stated, picking up his bag. "I have to go, I want to beat traffic. I'll see you on Friday." As he left, he ran into Brighton in the hallway. "I'm off Brighton, keep an eye on your sister," he told his son.

"See ya," he waved, watching him leave.

Grace approached her brother and commented, "Something's up with Dad. Since when does he go on four day long business trips without CC?"

"I don't know," Brighton remarked. "Why do you care?"

"Because he's our father and he's acting weird," she rolled her eyes. "Don't you want to know why?"

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend he doesn't want us to know about?" he suggested. "He could be taking her on a trip?"

She grimaced, "Oh my God, you think?" He shrugged. "But Dad's never really dated anyone before. The only woman he's had feelings for since Mom was Fran and we both know how that turned out."

"Yeah he totally screwed it up," he nodded.

"We were this close to having Fran as a stepmother," Grace shook her head sadly. "This is weird. I never thought Dad would actually date anyone else after Fran."

Brighton thought for a moment, before suggesting, "Hey, you don't think..."

"What?"

"Do you think Dad and Fran are...you know?"

"What are you talking about? Fran's married," Grace told him. "He missed his chance with her. There's no way they still have something going on."

"Yeah you're right, Fran would never cheat on David," he agreed. "Would she?"

She thought to herself for a moment, before announcing, "We need to get to the bottom of this. I think we need to do some snooping."

* * *

Maxwell checked his watch, shaking his head as he realised Fran was late. That woman could never be on time for anything. He sat listening to the radio for a few more minutes, until he finally saw Fran emerge from the townhouse with an overnight bag over one shoulder, wheeling a large suitcase.

He immediately got out of the car, instinctively going to help her with her bags. As soon as she saw him approaching her, she hissed, "What are you doing? Get back in the car!"

"I was going to help you with your bags," he explained in confusion. "You've packed enough for a month."

"Are you really surprised?" Fran remarked. "Now get in the car, before someone sees us together."

"You get in the car, I've got this," Max insisted, taking the suitcase from her.

"Thank you," she relented, also handing over the overnight bag. She watched for a moment as he made his way to the trunk of the car. She should've known he wouldn't let her put her own suitcase in the car. Maxwell Sheffield was always a gentleman, it was one of the many things she loved about him.

"Aren't you going to get in?" he asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"I..." she started, suddenly realising she had been standing on the sidewalk staring at him like an idiot.

He reached over and opened the passenger door with a grin, "M'lady?"

"Why thank you, kind Sir," she responded with a grin of her own, as she got into the car. As soon as he sat down in the driver's seat, Fran leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, surprised that she had kissed him in public. "You're not worried about somebody seeing us kissing?"

She shrugged, "The windows are tinted."

"Alright," he chuckled, waiting for her to put her seat belt on. Once she was buckled in, he pulled away from the curb and they were finally on their way to their romantic getaway.

"So what did you tell Niles and the kids?" Fran asked.

"I told them I was going to check out a new play I want to option."

"For four days?"

He took his eyes of the road for a moment to glance at her worriedly, "That's not believable?"

"It's a bit of a stretch, honey," she replied.

"Gracie did seem a little skeptical about that when I left," Maxwell recalled. "I hope she's not getting suspicious."

"Even if she is, there's no way she'll guess who you're really going to be with for the next couple of days," Fran responded. "They have no idea that we're even in contact again, let alone that we've been sleeping together. You haven't said anything to them, have you?"

"No, I typically don't tell my children when I'm sleeping with someone," he commented dryly.

"That's not what I meant," she remarked, rolling her eyes. "Have you told them we've been in contact?"

"I haven't mentioned you to them at all," Max assured her. "Should I have?"

She hesitated, before answering, "Not just yet. We'll tell them when there's something to tell."

He repeated curiously, " _When_ there's something to tell? Does that mean you're done with your thinking?"

"No, I'm still thinking," Fran smirked.

"So you'll still be thinking during this trip?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded. "But that doesn't mean I can't do other things too..."

"Like what?" Max asked suggestively.

When they pulled up to a red light, Fran turned to him and remarked, "That's for me to know and you to find out." She then kissed him deeply, giving him a little preview of what to expect over the next few days.

Their kiss was soon interrupted by the car behind them beeping their horn, to let them know that the light had turned green. "Stop distracting me," he scolded her playfully, diverting his attention back to the road as he continued driving.

"But I'm such a good distraction," she pouted, reaching over to place a hand on his upper thigh.

He jumped when her hand began to travel between his legs, giving her an incredulous look, "Fran! Are you trying to get us both killed?"

"Fine, I'll keep my hands to myself for the rest of the drive," she promised, placing both her hands back in her lap.

"You don't have to keep them _completely_ to yourself," Maxwell started, reaching over to take one of her hands in his.

She smiled at his gesture, "Good."

"You know, I'm really happy we're doing this," he told her sincerely. "We need this time away."

"We really do," she agreed with a content sigh.

* * *

"This is so nice," Fran commented, sitting down on the bed. When Max told her he was taking her to a bed and breakfast, she expected something more quaint. But this was fancy. She really shouldn't have expected anything less from her former boss. They had stayed in a number of beautiful hotels and resorts when she had accompanied him and children on vacation over the years.

He looked up from where he was rummaging through his bag on the other side of the room and smiled at the sight of her sitting at the end of the bed, looking at him expectantly. He immediately abandoned what he was doing and made his way over to her. When he was in her reach, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down to sit beside her, kissing him passionately.

Maxwell let himself enjoy the kiss for a moment, before breaking it off and resting his forehead against hers. "For someone who's apparently still doing a lot of thinking, you sure seem like you've made up your mind," he commented.

"What do you mean?"

"That kiss was the kiss of a woman who knows what she wants," he explained, leaning in to kiss her again.

She moaned against his lips, before pulling herself away from him once more to answer, "Of course I want you. The question is, should I leave my husband for you?"

"And the answer to that question is yes," he murmured as he began kissing her neck.

"Max..." she attempted to scold him, sighing in pleasure at the feeling of his lips on her neck. After a moment, she asked breathlessly, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" he muttered, in between kisses.

"You completely overwhelm me when we're close like this," Fran said, causing him to lift his head to look her in the eyes. "All I can think about is you and what I want you to do to me."

"What _do_ you want me to do to you?" Max smirked, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. He then made his way back down to her neck, which she greatly appreciated.

"Oh God, so many things," she moaned, running her fingers through his hair. She let him guide her down to lay on her back and began to enjoy the feeling of him kissing her all over.

They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a cellphone ringing. "That's me, just ignore it," he told her.

"You should answer it," she told him. "What if it's one of the kids?"

He knew she was right, he was letting his hormones overrule his common sense. He quickly went to answer his phone. Seeing Gracie's name on the caller id, he answered with, "Hello sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to call my Daddy?" she asked.

"Usually," Max remarked, sitting back down on the bed beside Fran. _She's fine_ , he mouthed to her so she wouldn't worry.

"So what are you doing?"

"I'm actually about to head into a late meeting," he said, as he and Fran exchanged a knowing look. "Can I call you back in half an hour?" On Fran's frown, he corrected himself, "I mean, one hour?"

"Sure, I'll talk to you then," Grace responded. "I love you."

"Love you too, bye," he hung up, discarding his phone on the bedside table. He looked back to Fran with a smile, "Now, where were we..."

"You could've talked to your daughter for a little while," she told him. "She called to speak to you and you completely blew her off."

"For you," Maxwell pointed out.

"We could've waited ten minutes to make love," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm all yours for the next four days."

"You know, I think I've just figured out the one thing I didn't miss about you over the last four years," he remarked. "You calling me out when I'm being a terrible father."

"I never said you were a terrible father," Fran objected. "Did I point out the little things I thought you could improve on? Sure. But I've always thought you were a good father."

"Really?"

"The best," she confirmed with a grin.

He sighed, "I should call Gracie back."

"Good choice," she nodded.

* * *

Grace hung up the phone, before announcing to her brother, "Well he sounds normal. He was a little too eager to get me off the phone when I called, but I guess he really could've been going into a meeting."

"See, there's nothing going on," Brighton told her. "Can we stop with the snooping now?"

"Hm," she started, thinking to herself for a moment. "Maybe I should call Fran?"

"Why?"

"Just to see if she acts weird when I call," she explained. "If she's with Dad, she's probably going to freak out."

"Do whatever you want, but I don't want any part of it," Brighton replied.

"Then why are you still sitting here with me?" Grace asked. "Clearly, you want to take part in this snooping."

"Just call Fran already so I can prove you wrong."

"Fine," she answered, before finding Fran's number in her cellphone and making the call.

* * *

Right as Maxwell began to call Grace back, Fran's cellphone began to ring. Finding that Grace's phone was engaged, he hung up, before directing his attention back to Fran who was now rummaging through her purse for her cellphone. She checked the caller id, her eyes widening in surprise. "It's Gracie!" she announced worriedly.

"Why is she calling you?" he asked in confusion.

"Oh God, she knows about us," Fran stated. "She has to. Why else would she call me straight after calling you?"

"Just don't answer."

"I have to answer, I can't just ignore her," she remarked. "Now be quiet," she told him, before answering the phone. "Hi Gracie. How are you, angel?"

"Hey Fran, I'm fine. How are you?" Grace replied calmly.

"I'm good sweetie. What's up?"

"I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over for dinner at the house tonight?" she asked. "Dad won't be there, he's out of town."

"Oh," Fran remarked, trying desperately to think of a good excuse to get out of dinner. "I would love to, but tonight isn't good for me. I already have plans."

"That's okay. How about tomorrow night?"

"I'm busy tomorrow night too," she lied. "Actually this whole week is pretty busy. Can we all get together next week?"

Grace nodded, "Sure, just let me speak to Maggie and Brighton and see when they're available."

"Great, let me know."

"We haven't seen you in forever," she told her former nanny. "I really miss you. We all do."

Fran exchanged a look with Maxwell, before replying, "I miss all of you too. I would really love to see you, it's just this week is a little crazy."

"No problem, I totally understand," Grace answered. "Anyway, I'll give you a call about next week."

"Okay honey," she smiled. "Talk soon. I love you."

"Love you too," she said, before hanging up the phone. She looked to her brother. "So Fran is supposedly busy all week. What do you think about that?"

"Alright, there might be something going on," Brighton relented.

* * *

Fran set her cellphone aside, before looking to Maxwell, "She definitely knows something is going on."

"What did she say?" he asked.

"She wanted me to come over for dinner at the house tonight," she told him. "She made sure to mention that you weren't going to be there."

"That doesn't mean she knows about us," he pointed out. "The kids probably thought with me not being there, it would be the perfect time to have you over. They know you've been a bit of a sore spot with me over the years."

"They think you wouldn't want to see me?"

Max sighed, taking her by the hand and leading her to come sit back down with him on the edge of the bed. "They probably just thought it would be awkward if we were both there," he explained. "They don't exactly know that we've been in touch again."

"In touch?" Fran repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's one way of putting it."

He chuckled, causing her to do the same. "Look, the kids don't know about us," he promised her. "Grace calling you straight after me was completely coincidental."

"God, I hope so," she sighed. "I'm really not ready for them to know yet."

"Yet?"

"Well- I mean, if we- if I-"

Max gave her an amused look and interjected, "Fran it's okay, I know you're still _thinking_. I'm just teasing you."

Fran glared at him playfully, "You shouldn't tease me, it's not very nice."

"I'm sorry," he responded, leaning in to give her a tender kiss.

"Hm, I don't think I can accept your apology just yet," she giggled. "I think you need to do some more _apologizing._ "

"Like this?" he asked, giving her another, more intense kiss.

"Uh huh, only keep going," she told him, their lips meeting once more.

* * *

"This is not what I had in mind when I heard you were taking me to a bed and breakfast," Fran grumbled as she followed Maxwell up the mountain the next morning.

"We're going for a romantic walk."

"Look how steep this mountain is. This is a hike, not a walk" she corrected him. "I'm a city girl, I don't hike."

"There's supposed to be an amazing view at the top of this mountain," Max said. "Just trust me."

Fran sighed, "Fine." The walked in silence for a couple of minutes, until she commented, "When you hear bed and breakfast, you don't think of hiking. You've got bed- which implies there will be lots of sleeping and lots of sex. Then you've got breakfast- which implies there will be a lot of eating. All things I love to do. Nowhere in that description does it imply that we'll be hiking."

"You know if you keep up the whining, when we get to the top I'm throwing you off this mountain."

"Shut up," she said, swatting him playfully. "I just don't understand what part of this is supposed to be romantic."

He sighed deeply, before reaching back and extending his hand to her, "Here, take my hand."

"Okay..." she started, grabbing his hand.

"Now it's romantic," Max commented, causing her to roll her eyes.

After a little more hiking, Fran and Maxwell finally reached the top of the mountain. "Thank God, we made it," she remarked dramatically. She was silenced when she saw the beautiful scenery before them. "Wow..."

"I hate to say I told you so..."

"Max, it's beautiful," she smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close.

He looked to her and asked, "Was it worth the hike?"

"Well, I wouldn't go _that_ far."

He sighed once more, "God, you're a pain."

She giggled, "I'm just kidding, sweetie. It's beautiful, really."

"You're lucky I love you," Maxwell shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Yes I am," she agreed, giving him a quick kiss. They continued taking in the view in a comfortable silence. Fran secretly wished that everyday could be like this one. Just her and Maxwell together, enjoying each others company. But they had to face reality at some point and she had an important decision to make very soon.

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay in getting this out, I've been extremely busy. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner :)**


	4. Secrets

**Second Chances**

 _Chapter 4: Secrets_

* * *

Fran smiled and nodded at Val from across the table, as she pretended to be listening to her friend talk about how her and Fred's toddler son was doing at daycare. She had always prided herself on being a good listener, especially where her best friend was concerned- but she had so much on her mind that she just couldn't seem to focus on what Val was saying.

"What do you think?" Val asked, looking to the brunette for a response.

She looked up from her cup of coffee, realising that she had no idea what her friend had been talking about. "I'm sorry sweetie, what did you say?" she asked.

"I asked what you think about Freddie Jr's daycare? Should we move him to a different one, or leave him where he is?"

"Why would you move him?"

"Because he got accepted into one closer to Fred's work," she repeated. "I just told you this, weren't you listening?"

"Sorry Val, I wasn't," Fran admitted. "I just have a lot going on at the moment, my mind is going 100 miles an hour. But I really do want to know what's going on with Freddie's daycare. Please tell me again, I'll definitely listen this time."

"It sounds like you need to talk more than I do," Val pointed out. "What's on your mind?"

"Are you sure?"

"It must be important if you're acting like this, so shoot," she told her.

Fran paused for a moment, before announcing, "There's something I haven't told you about for the last couple of months."

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything, Fran."

"It's really terrible Val, I'm an awful person."

She patted her friend's hand comfortingly, "You're not an awful person. It can't be that bad."

"It is," she insisted. "I'm not proud of this, but for the last couple of months I've sorta, kinda been having an affair..."

"What?!" Val exclaimed. "You cheated on David?"

Fran shushed her, "Oh my God, tell the whole cafe why don't ya?!"

"With who?"

"Who do you think?" she hissed. "The one person in my life I would drop anything for."

The blonde thought to herself for a moment, before asking in confusion, "Who?"

"Maxwell!" she whispered, rolling her eyes.

"You're sleeping with Mr Sheffield?" Val asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "Gee, I didn't think he had it in him."

"Val!"

"Well, the two of you lived under the same roof for four years and nothing ever happened."

"That's not entirely true..." Fran admitted hesitantly. "I never told you this, but we did have sex one time back when I was his nanny. That time I followed him to London..."

She looked shocked, "I can't believe you never said anything. You tell me everything."

"I was a little embarrassed, to be honest," she said. "I didn't want anyone to know that Maxwell dumped me the morning after getting me into bed."

"Oh Fran, you have nothing to be embarrassed about," Val replied. "He's the one who should've been embarrassed, dumping you like that."

"Thanks sweetie," she smiled gratefully.

"So how did it happen this time?" she asked.

"We ran into each other at a restaurant a couple of months ago," Fran explained. "We got to talking, then half a dozen drinks later, we were having sex in a hotel room down the street."

"So you were drunk," Val shrugged. "Not that it excuses anything, but everyone knows alcohol and exes do not mix."

"But we were only drunk the first time," she admitted. "Ever since that night, we keep meeting up. I can't stop myself Val, I don't know what's wrong with me!"

"Well, you've never been able to say no to that man..."

"But it's me that's been initiating it most of the time," Fran continued. "I have a fight with David, or he's working late and I'm feeling lonely, and the first thing I do is call Max. It's like a compulsion. What do I do?"

"Well, if you're serious about making your marriage work, you need to end it," she told her friend. Seeing that Fran looked a little hesitant, she added, "Or if you want to be with Maxwell, you need to leave David. You can't have it both ways."

"I know," she nodded with a sigh. "I'm just so confused. Then on top of that, there's something else going on in amongst this whole messed up situation..."

"What?"

Fran hesitated once more, "This is big, Val. If I tell you this you can't breathe a word of it to anyone, okay? Not even Fred."

"I won't tell anyone, I promise," Val swore. "What is it?"

"I think I could be pregnant."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm buying a pregnancy test again," Fran commented as she and Val stood in front of shelves full of pregnancy tests at the local drug store.

"Maybe this could be a good thing, Fran," the blonde started. "You never would have willingly gotten pregnant again. Maybe it's good this happened by accident?"

"How in the world can this be a good thing?"

"Having a baby is always a good thing," she shrugged.

"I'm sure most teen mothers would beg to differ," Fran remarked dryly.

She reached over and picked up one of the tests from the shelf, "I used this brand all the time when we were trying to get pregnant with Freddie."

She took the test from her friend, taking a look at the back of the box for a moment, before sighing deeply, "I just hate that I'm going to have to hurt one of them."

"Well baby or no baby, you were gonna have to choose between them sometime."

"I know, but if I'm pregnant that decision just got a whole lot more complicated."

"Not if the baby's Maxwell's," Val pointed out. On Fran's questioning look, she explained, "Come on, we both know you're gonna choose him. I know deep down you're thrilled that you might be having Mr Sheffield's baby."

She brought her hand to rest on her abdomen, thinking about the little baby that could be growing inside her. She had to admit, the thought of having Max's child did excite her on some level. But on the other hand, she was still terrified at the prospect of another pregnancy. Losing her last baby had devastated her, she couldn't stand the thought of being in a position where she could lose another.

"It's definitely Maxwell's baby," Fran confessed hesitantly. " _If_ I'm pregnant."

"How do you know?"

She rolled her eyes, "Gee, I don't know? Maybe because David and I haven't had sex in almost three months. And I've only skipped one period, so I can't be that far along."

"Three months?" Val repeated, her eyes widening in surprise. "Oh honey, no wonder you had to have an affair."

"The affair started before that," Fran explained. "But it's not just about sex with me and Max. I love him, Val."

"I know, Fran," she nodded. "You know, I think this whole situation might be the universe's way of telling you that you and Max should be together."

"The universe?"

"Yeah, like destiny...fate," Val elaborated. "You believe in that kind of thing, don't you?"

"I used to," she admitted. "Until the man I thought I was meant to be with didn't want to be with me."

"But he wants to be with you now."

Fran looked to her friend silently, trying her best to to burst into tears in the middle of the drug store. Maxwell certainly seemed like he wanted to be with her, but she had thought that once before and had ended up getting her heart broken. And there could potentially be a baby involved now. Could she risk a relationship with Max, when she wasn't even sure if what they had was stable?

"Let's get out of here," she announced, grabbing two more pregnancy tests from the shelf. She turned and began making her way to the register, as Val hurried to keep up with her. She paid for the tests, then they left the drug store, stepping out onto the busy New York City street. She looked down at the bag in her hand, then back up to her friend, "Well, I should probably go home and take these. I'll let you know what happens."

"Do you want me to be there when you take them?" Val offered.

She shook her head with a grateful smile, "No, it's okay. I'm a big girl, I can take a pregnancy test by myself."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

Val gave her friend a comforting hug, "Alright sweetie, good luck."

"Thanks Val," she smiled.

* * *

Fran stared at the positive pregnancy test in her hand, sighing before tossing it into the trash, along with the other two pregnancy tests she had taken that had also turned out positive. There was no doubt about it- she was definitely pregnant.

Suddenly, she heard the front door open and David's voice calling out her name. She quickly tossed some toilet paper into the trash to cover up the pregnancy tests, before hurrying out of the bathroom to greet her husband. When she saw him, she put on her best fake smile, "Hi sweetie."

"There's my long-lost wife," David grinned, making his way over to her and kissing her on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Fran lied. "How was work?"

"Busy, as usual," he confessed. "I've been at the hospital for 18 hours straight, I really need to get to bed."

"Oh, well go for it," she told him. "Don't let me keep you up."

David paused for a moment, before asking, "Are you okay, Fran? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"If you're not feeling well, maybe you shouldn't go to dinner tonight."

Fran gave him a confused look, "Dinner?"

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be having dinner with the Sheffield kids tonight?"

"Damn, I completely forgot," she shook her head. How was she supposed to have dinner with the kids when she was keeping this huge secret from them? She didn't know if she was going to be able to act normal around them. But then again if she didn't go, the kids might think she was avoiding them and start to get suspicious. "I should go, I haven't seen them in ages."

"I don't know why you still bother seeing them anyway," David commented. "You haven't been their nanny in years."

"Because I love them, David," Fran remarked with a frown. "You don't raise three kids for four years without getting emotionally attached."

"Yeah, but they're not your responsibility anymore. They have a father."

"I know they're not my responsibility, it's not like that. I mean, two of them are adults now," she reminded him. "I just...I still want to be apart of their lives. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"I didn't say there was anything wrong with it, I just think it's strange to love somebody else's kids that much," he replied. "Especially when you don't seem to have any interest in having our own kids."

Fran's mouth dropped open in disbelief, "Excuse me? Where did _that_ come from?"

He sighed, "I'm sorry, I think I'm just tired. I need to get some sleep."

"I'll say," she commented.

"Let's not get into this now, okay?" he told her bluntly. "I'm going to bed. Enjoy your dinner."

Fran was silent as she watched David make his way up the stairs to the second floor. If he only knew that she was well on her way to having her own child- it just wasn't with him.

* * *

Maxwell finally exited the study after a long day of work. Making his way into the living room, he was surprised to find all three of his children, plus his son-in-law, waiting for him.

"Margaret, Michael. I didn't know you were coming over," he started, making his way over to his eldest daughter to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yep," Maggie confirmed with a nod. "I hope you don't have any dinner plans."

"No, none," he shook his head. "I'll definitely be joining you for dinner."

"Good, because there's actually someone else joining us," Grace spoke up.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Fran's coming over," Brighton informed him.

Maxwell tried his hardest to keep his reaction neutral as he responded, "Oh, well great. It will be nice to see Miss Fine again."

"Dad, are you okay with Fran coming over?" Gracie asked. "I know you guys haven't spoken in a while."

"Why wouldn't I be okay with it?" he asked. She shrugged awkwardly, not wanting to bring up any sensitive topics right before Fran was due to arrive. "I'm fine with Fran coming over for dinner," Max assured his daughter.

However in actual fact, Grace was right to ask the question. He was worried about he and Fran being in the same room together with the children. They were going to have to act like they hadn't spoken in years, when in reality they had been spending a lot of time together over the last few months. He just hoped they could pull it off. He really should try to warn Fran of the situation she was walking into. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make a quick phone call before dinner," he announced, turning to make his way back to the study to call Fran.

But before he could do so, the doorbell rang. "Fran's here," Brighton announced, jumping up from the couch to go answer the door. "I've got it Niles!" he called out to the butler, who had just made it to the living room from the kitchen. Maxwell cursed Fran's out of character punctuality. Of course the one time it would be better for her to be late, she was right on time. He submitted to the fact that they were both about to be thrown into an uncomfortable situation.

"Hi B," she greeted Brighton as he let her into the house. She gave him a hug before rushing over to hug Niles. "Oh Niles, I haven't seen you in so long! How have we let so much time pass since our last catch up? How long has it been?"

"At least six months," he nodded. With an excited grin, he added, "It's so good to see you! You look amazing."

"Oh stop it, you're too sweet," she replied. She went to turn her attention to the girls, when she suddenly realised Maxwell was also in the room. She was caught off guard for a moment as they made nervous eye contact.

"Oh yeah, Dad's joining us for dinner tonight," Grace explained as she hugged her former nanny. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," she remarked. "I mean, it i _s_ your house."

"You didn't know I would be here?" Max asked as he approached her.

"Well Grace said you had to stay late at the theatre tonight, so I wasn't expecting to see you," Fran explained.

He gave his youngest child a confused look, "I don't recall telling you I would be going to the theatre tonight."

"Really? I could've sworn you did," she remarked with an exaggerated surprised tone. "Oh well, whatever. The more the merrier, right?"

After a moment of silence, Maxwell realised that he and Fran should be acting like they hadn't seen each other in years. "So, how are you Fran?" he asked, giving her a pointed look to encourage her to play along.

"I'm good Max, how have you been?" she answered.

"Well, thank you," he nodded.

"Since when do you guys call each other by your first names?" Maggie asked.

Fran and Maxwell exchanged a brief look of panic, before she saved them by explaining, "It's not like I still work for your father. I think we can address each other by our first names."

"I think it would be weird if we didn't," he agreed. He paused, then announced, "Shall we make our way into the dining room?"

As the kids and Niles all exited the living room, Fran hung back, placing her hand on Maxwell's arm so he would do the same. "I need to talk to you later," she told him in a hushed tone. "It's important."

"Is everything okay?" he whispered back with a concerned look.

"We'll talk later," she insisted, following the kids out of the room.

Maxwell paused for a moment to contemplate what she could possibly have to talk to him about. He immediately had a bad feeling about it and hoped that she wasn't going to break things off with him.

* * *

 _To be continued..._


	5. Everything Changes

_Chapter 5: Everything Changes_

* * *

"So, how's married life treating you two?" Fran asked Maggie and Michael.

The young couple exchanged smiles, before looking back to Fran. "It's amazing," Maggie responded. "We couldn't be happier."

"Best thing we ever did," Michael added.

"Aw, that's so sweet," Fran grinned. "I'm glad you're happy. How long have you been married now?"

"Nine months," Michael informed her.

"Wow, has it been that long?" she asked. "Time really flies."

"We missed you at the wedding," Maggie commented dryly.

"I know, I'm so sorry I couldn't make it," she answered. "David and I were out of town that weekend."

"Right..." She remarked in disbelief. She knew Fran hadn't come to the wedding because she had been avoiding her father. "How is David, anyway?"

She hesitated for a moment, before answering briefly, "He's fine."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring him with you tonight," Grace commented, exchanging a look with Brighton.

"He had just gotten home from an 18 hour shift at the hospital right before I was about to leave," Fran explained. "He needed to sleep."

"He must work pretty long hours," Michael commented. "I know my Dad used to before he opened his own practice. That must be hard on you."

She nodded, "It is. It's not the easiest life, being married to a doctor. But I'm proud of him. What he does is important and he's so dedicated and so passionate about helping people."

Maxwell felt a little twinge of jealously when he heard Fran speak about her husband in such a loving way. This just added to his suspicions that she was about to end their affair.

"You okay, Dad?" Brighton asked, causing him to look up from his plate. "You've been very quiet."

He cleared his throat, before insisting, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about a work problem that's been stressing me out."

"What problem?" Grace asked.

"Uh...you know, just a casting decision," he lied.

Fran tried to make eye contact with Maxwell, but he wouldn't let her. She was worried she had gone too far when talking about David. She was trying to act like everything was okay with her marriage to ensure the kids didn't start asking questions, but she had a feeling that what she said had upset Max. She reached over and placed her hand on his knee under the table, to try to show him he had nothing to worry about. But as soon as she did this, he cleared his throat and announced, "I need to use the restroom. Excuse me."

She watched him get up from the table and exit the dining room, wanting to go after him so badly. But that would definitely cause the kids to become suspicious, so she remained in her seat. She continued chatting with the kids for a while, catching up on what was happening in all of their lives. She hadn't seen them since before her and Maxwell had begun their affair and there was a lot to catch up on.

When Max hadn't returned to the table after fifteen minutes, Fran couldn't help herself and remarked to the kids in a purposely casual tone, "Gee, your father's been gone for a while. He's probably snuck off to his study to work. I better go drag him away from his desk."

"Sure," Maggie nodded.

As soon as Fran left the room, Grace turned to her siblings and commented, "See? Aren't they acting weird?"

"Kind of," Brighton admitted.

"Yeah, I expected them to be avoiding speaking to each other as much as possible tonight," Maggie agreed. "But Fran's purposely going to find him right now. What's that all about?"

"I feel like we're missing something here," Gracie started. "Something is going on between them. It's the only explanation for the way they've been behaving."

"What happened between the two of them anyway?" Michael enquired.

"We'll never know _exactly_ what happened," Maggie began. "All we know is four years ago, Fran followed Dad to London hoping to sort things out between them and finally become a couple. Then she came home two days later really upset, and immediately packed up all her stuff and left."

"Dad never told us what happened either," Brighton added. "All he said was Fran had decided to move on from being our nanny. He would never tell us what went down between them in London, but obviously it wasn't good."

"It was all pretty sad actually," Maggie admitted. "I know Dad loved Fran- he probably still does. I think he was just scared of getting into another relationship after losing Mom. Fran was patient with him, but you can only wait for someone for so long I guess."

"Your poor Dad," Michael commented. "And now Fran's married to someone else, that's got to be killing him."

"Yep," Grace confirmed. "Not that her being married really changes anything. People cheat on their spouses all the time."

"People do, but not Fran," Brighton pointed out. "She wouldn't do that."

Maggie shrugged, "If she had the opportunity to be with Dad, I think she might."

"See? Maggie agrees with me," Grace told her brother, poking her tongue out at him.

"I think you've both been watching too many soap operas," he said, rolling his eyes. "This isn't TV. This is Dad and Fran we're talking about here."

"Yeah, I think Brighton's right," Michael interjected. "I think we should give them both the benefit of the doubt. I can't see any signs that they're having an affair."

* * *

Fran made her way to the study, knocking on the door before opening it slowly. Just as she had thought, Maxwell was sitting at his desk, looking over a script. He looked up at her as she entered the room, shutting the door behind her. "Hey," she smiled at him. "Whatcha doing in here?"

He sighed, looking back down at the script in his hands, "It was all getting to be a little too much- sitting at the table with the children, listening to you gush about your amazing doctor husband."

"What?" she remarked, her smile turning into a frown. "I was trying to make the kids think that everything is okay between David and I. If I had said anything negative about him, it was only going to add to their suspicions about us."

"What suspicions? I told you they don't know anything."

"You don't know that for sure. They're not stupid, they can probably sense that something's going on," she responded. "Plus, I think I made it pretty obvious by following you in here. I probably shouldn't have, but I could tell that you were upset and I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Well I'm not," Maxwell remarked bluntly. "I'm so tired of this, Fran. I don't want to hide our relationship anymore, it's getting exhausting."

"I know," Fran nodded, making her way over to him and taking a seat in her former spot on the corner of his desk. "Gee, it's been a while since I've sat here, huh?"

He looked up at her and couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of her sitting in the spot she had sat in many times in her years working as his nanny. He had fallen in love with her in this very spot, during the many times she would come into his office to discuss the children or one of her wacky relatives- or just to see how he was doing. "The desk has missed you," he commented softly.

She grinned, "Just the desk?"

"Don't distract me, I was trying to be serious," he scolded her gently. He reached over and took her by the hand and asked, "I need to know once and for all, does this relationship have a future?"

Fran paused, before confessing, "That's actually what I need to talk to you about. I just found out something that's going to change both of our futures."

"What are you talking about?"

She looked away for a moment and sighed deeply, "This is harder than I thought it was going to be."

"Alright, now I'm worried," he told her. "What's going on?"

"Now that you're standing right in front of me, it's so hard to even say the words," she said. "If I say it out loud, it makes it real and I don't know if I'm ready for that."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," he replied. "We'll handle it together."

"I..." she began, trailing off hesitantly. "I'm pregnant."

He looked confused for a moment, "What?"

"I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Then I took another one and it was positive too. Then I took a third one-"

"Fran," he interjected gently, silencing her rambling.

"I'm so sorry," she said, wiping away a tear. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Oh darling, what are you sorry about?" Maxwell asked. Suddenly it hit him that this might not be such great news. "Wait, do you think the baby is David's?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm almost positive it's yours. David and I haven't slept together in months. I have to confirm this with my doctor, but I don't think I'm very far along."

"This may be a little insensitive, but that's the best news I've gotten in a long time," he confessed, standing up and pulling her into a hug.

Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, surprised that he was taking the news so well. Maxwell usually didn't react very well to unexpected news like this. Holding onto him tightly, she admitted, "I can't believe I let this happen. I never wanted to be pregnant again."

He pulled back from the hug and asked her, "Since when? Ever since I've known you, you've always wanted to be a mother."

"I did...I still do," she answered. "I just..."

"What?" he asked gently.

"I've been so scared of losing another baby," Fran confessed with a sob. "That's what stopped me from getting pregnant again after my miscarriage. I can't go through that again."

"We're not going to lose this baby, Fran," Maxwell assured her.

"You don't know that," she argued. "You weren't there last time. You don't know how hard it was!"

"I know, I can't even imagine the pain you and David must have went through when you lost your baby," he agreed. "But that's not going to happen this time."

"I want to believe that," Fran admitted. "I want you and this baby so badly, but I just know this isn't going to happen for us."

"Plenty of women who've had a miscarriage go on to have healthy babies."

"Yeah and plenty of women have multiple miscarriages. Some can never carry a baby to term," she pointed out.

"Everything's going to be okay," he insisted. When she still looked unconvinced, he added, "Look at everything we've overcome to get to this point. Not even you being married to someone else could keep us apart. Clearly we were supposed to reconnect again so this baby could exist. This child is meant to be, I know it is."

She sighed once more, "I hope you're right."

"I am, trust me," he nodded. "We're having a baby, Fran. Can't we just take a moment to be happy about that?"

A small smile crept onto her face and for the first time since finding out she was pregnant, she allowed herself to feel excited about the little baby that was growing inside of her. Her hand came to rest on her belly and she repeated, "We're having a baby."

Maxwell smiled back at her, before leaning in to kiss her tenderly, "I love you."

"I love you too," she told him, wiping away the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. "God, I've got to pull myself together. If I go back out to the table looking like I've been crying, the kids are definitely gonna start asking questions."

He paused, before suggesting, "Why don't we just tell them about us?"

"Right now?"

"Yes. Why not?"

Fran shook her head, "We can't, Max. I haven't even broken things off with David yet. I don't want him finding out about us from somebody else. I want to be the one to tell him, I at least owe him that." She suddenly realised that choosing Maxwell also meant she had to break David's heart. She did love David and never wanted to hurt him. He just couldn't compete with the feelings she had for Max.

He sighed, "You're right. You need to tell David first. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

She smiled at him once more, "You're excited. You can't wait to tell the world that we're in love and having a baby. I'm feeling the exact same way."

"Soon," Maxwell promised her.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I just need to get the hard part over and done with first." She gave him a quick kiss, before telling him, "You should probably head back to the table. I need a minute to get myself together, then I'll join you."

"Alright," he agreed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Fran assured him. "This pregnancy is just going to take some getting used to, you know?"

"Of course, it's a big change."

"A _huge_ change," she nodded. "Are you going to be able to keep it together in front of the kids? You have a terrible poker face."

He gave her a look, "What do you think I'm going to do, accidentally blurt out, 'Fran and I are having a baby'?"

"You're what?"

Fran and Max exchanged alarmed looks, before turning to find Maggie standing at the partially open study door. "Oh my God, Maggie!" Fran exclaimed, rushing over to the blonde and pulling her into the study, shutting the door behind them.

"We can explain," Maxwell began, hurrying over to the two women.

After a brief pause, she commented, "You know when people say that, they usually start to explain themselves."

"Right," he said. "I'm just not quite sure where to start."

"How about you start with how the hell you and Fran can be having a baby?"

"I'm sorry you found out this way, sweetie," Fran told her. She gestured to the couch, "Maybe you should sit down?"

* * *

"So this has been going on for five months?" Maggie asked, shaking her head in disbelief. They both nodded. "I just don't understand how you got pregnant."

"The usual way," Fran remarked sheepishly.

"Oh my God, ew!" she exclaimed, making a disgusted face. "That's not what I meant. I just don't understand how the two of you could've done this to David. Not that he and I were ever that close or anything, but I know he doesn't deserve this."

"I know, we feel terrible," Max nodded.

Maggie gave her father a look of disbelief, "Come on, Dad. You must be thrilled that Fran is having your baby. I know how much you've always regretted letting her go."

He hesitated for a moment, before admitting, "Fine, I'll say it. I'm ecstatic that we've been given this second chance at happiness. And I can't wait to welcome our baby into the world in nine months time. But that doesn't mean I don't feel awful about the circumstances in which this is all happening."

"Look Mags," Fran interjected. "I know what we've been doing is wrong and I will tell David about it. But in the meantime, we need you to keep this quiet. You can't even tell Michael."

"I tell Michael everything."

"I know, honey," she nodded. "But can you maybe hold off telling him until I talk to David? I don't want him to find out about this from anybody else."

Maggie nodded, "Fine, I won't tell anyone."

"And I really hope this whole situation doesn't change the way you and your brother and sister see us," Fran continued. "We're still the same people we've always been, we just made a mistake."

Max looked to her in alarm, "You think this baby was a mistake?"

"Not the baby, just the affair in general," she explained. "I don't regret all the time we've spent together over the last few months, I just think we went about it the wrong way. I should've ended things with David months ago. You kept asking me to, but I was a coward and now I've ended up making this situation a whole lot worse."

"We both played a role in this," he said. "I shouldn't have kept participating in this affair, when I knew you were still married. That was wrong."

"But then my little baby brother or sister wouldn't have existed," Maggie pointed out. On their surprised looks, she explained, "I am excited about this baby. I just don't approve of the circumstances under which he or she came to be."

"That's fair," Maxwell nodded. "I just can't wait for this whole situation to be over and all of us can be a family- the way it was supposed to be."

"Me too," she admitted. "We've missed you so much, Fran. This family hasn't been the same without you in it."

She smiled, "Thank you, sweetie. I've missed being part of this family."

Max put his arm around her and pointed out, "Well you're officially part of the family now."

"That's true," Fran nodded. "I'm carrying the newest little Sheffield. You're all stuck with me now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he smiled, kissing her on the cheek.


	6. The Truth Comes Out

_Chapter 6: The Truth Comes Out_

* * *

It was almost 11 o'clock at night when Maxwell finally returned home after a long, exhausting day of dress rehearsals for his latest show. He walked in the door to find that Brighton was still awake and watching television in the living room.

"Brighton, what are you doing up?" he asked, while hanging up his coat in the closet. He made his way over to the living room couch to find that he was watching some kind of sci-fi movie.

"I don't have class until 1pm tomorrow," he explained with a grin. "I love college."

He gave his son a disapproving look, "That doesn't mean you can lounge around the house all morning."

"No, of course not," he shook his head. "I probably won't even get up until like 11." On his father's frown, he added, "Come on Dad, I'm just kidding. Lighten up a little."

"I've been at the theatre since 8 o'clock this morning, I'm too exhausted to lighten up."

"It's not that," Brighton protested. "You've been cranky ever since Fran came over for dinner the other night."

"I have not," Maxwell argued.

"If it helps, I totally get it," he replied. "It must suck seeing Fran again after what happened between you guys."

"Oh and you know what happened between us?"

"Well not the details, but it certainly couldn't have been good if it made her leave."

Max sighed, before insisting, "I am not in a bad mood. And I'm not thinking about Fran."

Brighton shrugged, "Alright, if you say so." After a pause, he added, "You know, it's okay to be sad about losing the woman you love- and don't try to say you didn't love Fran because everyone knows you did."

Before he could respond, the cordless phone began to ring from where it sat on the couch. "Who could that be at this hour?" Maxwell wondered out loud. He immediately felt nervous, knowing that a late night phone call usually meant bad news.

Brighton answered the phone, "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment, until Fran's familiar voice came through the phone, "Hi B."

"Oh hey _Fran_ ," he responded, giving his father a look. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," she lied. "I'm sorry to call so late...but is your father still up by any chance?"

"Yeah, he's right here. He just got home from the theatre," he explained. "Hold on, I'll put him on."

Max quickly grabbed the phone, not even caring if Fran's call was raising Brighton's suspicions about them. He just had to know if she was okay. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I'm not," she confessed, her voice shaking slightly. "Max, I-I think something's wrong with the baby. Something doesn't feel right."

With a panicky feeling rising in his stomach, he told her, "Okay just stay calm, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and Brighton gave him a questioning look. "I have to go," he told him simply, making his way over to the closet to retrieve his coat.

Brighton got up from the couch and followed him to the closet, "Why do you have to go? What did Fran say?"

Maxwell hesitated, as he quickly put on his coat, "Look, I can't tell you right now. But I'll be able to tell you soon, okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Can't you just trust me, Brighton?"

He sighed, "Fine, but can you at least tell me if Fran is okay?"

"I don't even know the answer to that question at the moment," Max admitted.

"What?!" he exclaimed in alarm.

"I'll explain soon, I promise," he said. "Now I've really got to go."

* * *

"This is taking forever," Fran complained, looking around at the packed emergency room.

"Well, you insisted I take you to this hospital instead of the one five minutes away from us," Max reminded her gently.

"If we went to the one closer to us, we probably would've run into David," she said. "He's working tonight."

"Isn't he always?" When she glared at him, he added, "Sorry."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Fran admitted, "I'm so worried about this baby. I could be sitting here having a miscarriage as we speak and no one at this hospital even cares."

Max looked at her, before getting up from his seat and marching himself over to the nurses' station. "Excuse me," he started. "Can you tell me how much longer the wait is going to be?"

"I really couldn't tell you," she said. "It changes all the time because people come in needing urgent care and are given priority."

"And a miscarriage isn't a priority?"

"A miscarriage?"

"Look, my partner and I have been here for over an hour," Max explained. "She's pregnant and she thinks something's wrong with the baby. She's had a miscarriage before, so she may be right and I'm terrified that's the case. Can you please do something? We can't lose this baby."

The nurse sighed, "I'll see what I can do. What's your partner's name?"

"Francine F- Roberts. Francine Roberts," he stated, realising that he almost said Fran's maiden name. He waited patiently as the nurse made a call.

Finally, she hung up the phone and nodded at him, "Okay, I've found an available doctor. You guys can follow me."

Max turned and gestured for Fran to come over. She stood up and approached them with a confused look on her face, "What's going on?"

"They've found a doctor for you," he explained as they followed the nurse down the hallway.

* * *

"Everything looks fine," the doctor commented, taking a look at the screen of the ultrasound machine.

They both breathed sighs of relief. "Really? Are you sure?" Fran asked. "Everything's normal?"

"Yeah, baby's healthy," she smiled. "There's a strong heartbeat and he or she is moving around in there already. Here, take a look." She turned the screen around so Fran and Max could see the baby.

"Look at that," Maxwell remarked with a grin.

"You were pretty much right on about how far along you are," the doctor said. "I would say you're closer to 7 weeks though. Baby's a little too big to be less than 6 weeks."

"That is fine by me," Fran chuckled. "One week closer to meeting our little one."

"Do you feel better now after seeing the baby?

"Much better," she nodded. "It's nice to have solid proof that everything's okay in there."

"I know this pregnancy must be quite stressful for you because of your previous miscarriage," the doctor commented. "I assure you, many woman go on to have perfectly healthy babies after a loss."

"Thanks Doc," she responded gratefully.

Turning off the ultrasound machine, she announced, "Well, since everything looks good with the baby, you're free to go. Just make sure you book an appointment with your OBGYN as soon as possible. It's important for you to see a doctor on a regular basis, given your advanced maternal age."

Fran frowned in annoyance and repeated, " _Advanced maternal age_ -?"

"Thank you Doctor. We'll be sure to see an obstetrician right away," Max interjected, knowing it was best to distract Fran from the doctor's comment. She never reacted well to people implying that she was old. "And thank you for coming to see Fran so quickly. We really appreciate it."

"No problem, I'm just glad nothing was wrong," she smiled. "I'll give you a minute to get dressed."

Once the doctor had left the room, Fran looked to Max with a pout, "Since when is 32 an advanced maternal age?"

He gave her an incredulous look and repeated, " _32_?" He chuckled, "Well at least you're slowly working your way up from 29..."

She glared at him, "Oh quiet you." She sighed deeply, before telling him softly, "I'm sorry for making you bring me here so late at night."

"Don't be ridiculous," he said, taking her hand to help her get down from the examination table. "I'll take you to the hospital a hundred times during this pregnancy if it means that you and our baby are okay."

As she picked up her dress from the table beside her, she admitted, "I guess I'm a little paranoid after last time..."

"Understandably so," he nodded.

"Can you help me with this?" she asked, gesturing to the tie at the back of the hospital gown. He undid the gown for her and she proceeded to put her dress back on. Turning back to him she commented, "Hey, at least we know the baby's definitely yours. We won't be appearing on an episode of Maury Povich any time soon."

"Fran," he scolded her gently, chuckling nevertheless as she took a step closer to him. Placing a hand on her cheek, he told her, "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled, as he gave her a tender kiss.

Maxwell's smile quickly turned to a frown as he recalled the conversation between himself and Brighton earlier. "So, are you planning on telling David about us any time soon?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm gonna tell him," she assured him. "Give me a break, I've only known about this pregnancy for three days."

"I know, it's just..."

"What?"

"Well, Brighton knows there's something going on between us," he told her.

Fran nodded, "Of course he does. I called late at night and you rushed off to see me. I'd be worried if he wasn't asking questions." She sighed, "I'm sorry Max. I wasn't thinking when I called the house. I was so worried about the baby-"

"Don't apologize, I'm glad you called me," he insisted. "I told Brighton that I couldn't tell him what was going on yet, but I will tell him eventually."

"I'll tell David tomorrow," she decided. "Then everything can be out in the open. No more secrets. Seeing the baby on the ultrasound made this pregnancy so real. It made me realize that we need to get our act together before bringing this child into the world, and that involves telling David that I don't want to be with him anymore."

"I know," Maxwell agreed. "I feel awful you having to tell David this by yourself."

"Why? I'm the one that cheated on him. You weren't cheating on anybody."

"I still participated in the affair, that's just as wrong," he pointed out.

Fran sighed, "Honey, I think we've beaten ourselves up about this enough. We can't go back and do things differently. All I can do is tell David and hope that I don't completely break his heart."

He sighed as he took her by the hand, "Come on, I'll take you home." She grabbed her purse with her free hand, before letting him lead her out of the room.

* * *

The next morning, Fran made her way up to the nurses' station, smiling at the familiar face behind the desk. "Hi Abby, how are you doin'?" she asked.

"I'm good Fran, how are you?" Abby responded.

She nodded, "I'm okay."

"Are you here to see David?"

"Yeah, do you know where I can find him?" she asked, taking a look around the busy hospital ward for her husband.

"He's on lunch, so he's probably taking a nap in the break room," Abby informed her.

"Great, thanks Abby," Fran replied, before making her way to the break room.

As she approached the door, she suddenly felt a little apprehensive. She was about to wake her husband up to tell him that she had been cheating on him and was pregnant with another man's baby. And he had no idea it was coming. Fran took a deep breath before proceeding to open the door, only to find that it was locked. She knocked on the door and immediately heard shuffling noises coming from inside the room.

After a moment, the door opened slightly to reveal a disheveled looking David. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw his wife. "Fran? What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion.

Fran could sense that he was nervous and wondered why. She gave him a curious look, before telling him, "I was hoping we could talk. Can I come in?"

"Uh...this really isn't a good place to talk," he replied. "Other doctors and nurses need to use this space too."

"Then why was the door locked?"

"I...I was trying to get some sleep, I'm exhausted," David stammered. "Look, can we talk later? This isn't the best time."

She peered at him suspicious, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he insisted.

Fran gave him a skeptical look, before pushing the door fully open to reveal a very blonde, very young, underwear clad nurse sitting on the break room couch. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Dave, who is this?" the blonde asked, proceeding to put the remainder of her clothes back on.

"I don't believe this," Fran shook her head. "You've been cheating on me?"

"Fran," David started.

"Cheating?" the nurse repeated. "Wait, you're married?"

"Isabelle, I can explain-"

"That you're married? Yeah, I got that," she remarked, standing up from the couch. "Jerk!" she exclaimed, brushing past them and storming down the hallway.

"Iz!" David called out after her, before looking back to Fran, who had a blank expression on her face. "Look, I never meant for this to happen. This thing between me and Isabelle, it just kinda happened."

"Uh-huh," she nodded, her facial expression still free from any particular emotion. She stepped into the room, slowly shutting the door behind them.

"I don't cheat, I'm not that guy," he insisted. "I don't know what's come over me lately. I guess it's because we haven't really been connecting as a couple. We haven't in some time. We don't talk. God, I can't even remember the last time we had sex." He paused, suddenly noticing that she didn't seem as angry as she should be in this situation. "Fran? Please say something, you're scaring me."

She stared at him for a moment, before suddenly bursting out laughing. David gave her a confused look, "Why are you laughing?"

"I just can't believe this," she chuckled, shaking her head in amusement.

"Have you lost your mind?" he asked. "You should be yelling at me right now, not laughing."

Her laughter died down and she began, "Do you know why I came here today, David?"

He shook his head, "No."

"I came here to break up with you," Fran confessed. "Because I've been cheating on you too, for a few months now."

David's eyes widened in shock, "Excuse me, you what?"

She rolled her eyes, "Please, you are in no place to judge me. You were just banging some 25-year-old nurse on that couch."

He corrected her, "Actually she's a resident-." On Fran's annoyed look, he finished, "But that's not important." They stood in silence for a minute then he asked, "Who is he?"

She hesitated, before admitting, "It's Maxwell."

He blinked, "Maxwell Sheffield? The guy who used to be your boss? The one you had feelings for?"

"That's the one."

"But you always said that was ancient history," David reminded her. "I didn't think you had even seen him in years."

"I hadn't up until a couple of months ago," she said. "We ran into each other at a restaurant one night and we got to talking. Then one thing led to another..."

"Alright, I don't need the details," he interjected. He shook his head in disbelief, "God, our marriage is even more screwed up than I thought."

She nodded in agreement, "What's wrong with us?"

"I don't know," he sighed once more. "I guess we've been forcing this marriage for a while now. I wanted things to work out so badly, but there's something missing between us."

Fran was silent for a moment, then admitted, "We didn't go into this marriage for the right reasons, David. Because of that, I think we've been doomed from the very start."

"You mean, the baby?"

She looked to him abruptly, shocked that he had brought up the child they had lost. They hadn't spoken of her miscarriage since a couple of weeks after it had happened, when she had told him she didn't want to try for another baby. She nodded, "Yeah, the baby."

"I didn't just marry you because of the baby, Fran," David told her. "I loved you and I wanted the three of us to be a family."

"Do you still love me now?"

"Of course I do," he insisted. "I always will. I just don't think we're supposed to be together."

She nodded, "Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing too."

"I think you need to give it a shot with Maxwell," David said. "If your feelings for each other are still there all these years later, I think it's something worth exploring."

"We will- well actually we have been exploring it," Fran told him. She cringed, "Sorry."

"Hey, I've been screwing a 25-year-old behind your back for the last eight months, remember?"

"Right," she nodded. "Wait a minute, _eight months?!_ This has been going on for eight months?!"

"How long have you and Maxwell been...?"

"Five months," Fran told him. "I guess that's not much better. That does explain why you've been working all the time lately."

"So that's it then?" David asked. "Our marriage is over?"

"I guess so," she responded. "Feels strange, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it."

"Listen, David there's something else you should know," Fran started, knowing that she had to tell him about her pregnancy. She wanted him to hear it from her, not somebody else. "I'm pregnant. With Max's baby."

"You're what?"

"I'm pregnant," she repeated. "I can't believe it, but I am. It's definitely not yours, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Well I figured, it's been at least three months since we last- you know," David remarked. "Did you...plan this?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "Yeah, I planned a pregnancy with the man I was having an affair with." She sighed, "I didn't mean for this to happen. I never wanted to be pregnant again, you know that."

"Maybe it's good this happened by accident then?" he shrugged. "You're the type of person that's supposed to be a mother, Fran. This baby doesn't know how lucky it is."

"Thank you, David," Fran smiled. "That's a very sweet thing to say. Especially under the circumstances."

"Have you told Max yet?"

She nodded, "I have. He's thrilled."

"Good, he would be crazy not to be," he smiled.

She paused, before announcing, "I think I should go. I've gotta go home and pack up some of my stuff. I'm gonna go stay with Ma for a little while."

"Fran, you don't have to leave the house right away," David insisted.

"Yeah, I do," she nodded.

"You're going to your parents place? Shouldn't you be going to Maxwell's?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I think it may be too soon. I don't want to put too much pressure on our relationship so quickly."

"You're having a baby, I think that's the very most pressure you can put on a relationship," he pointed out.

"That's a good point," she sighed. "I guess I'll just see what happens. But in the meantime, I'll be at my parent's place."

* * *

Fran grinned as she quickly paid her cab driver, before hopping out of the car and rushing up to the front door of the Sheffield townhouse. She rang the door bell, excited to finally be telling Maxwell she had ended her marriage and they were free to be together.

A moment later, Niles answered the door. "Fran. What are you doing here?" he asked. "Are you here to see the children?"

"Is Maxwell home?" she inquired as the butler stood back to allow her to enter. As she stepped into the foyer, she froze when she saw Brighton sitting on the couch watching television. "Oh, hey B," she smiled nervously, knowing that he was going to ask her about the other night.

"Hey Fran," he said, standing up from the couch to greet her. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Nobody did, I'm showing up a little unannounced I guess," she admitted sheepishly. "Listen sweetie, I'm sure you have a lot of questions about why I called the house so late the other night."

"I do, but I doubt you're going to answer them," Brighton replied. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Something's going on between you and Dad, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry, what?!" Niles exclaimed from behind them, causing them to turn and look at him. "How am I so out of the loop? No one used to be able to sneeze in this house without me knowing about it."

"Niles, please," Fran started with a sigh. She looked back to Brighton and answered, "Look, I don't think it's appropriate for this to come from me. I'm sure your father wants to sit you and Gracie down and tell you himself."

"Why just me and Gracie?" he asked with a puzzled look. "Does Maggie already know about this?"

She cringed. As usual, she had opened her big mouth and said too much. She was about to respond, when Maxwell appeared in the doorway between the living room and the study, "Fran?"

Brighton turned to look at him, "Dad, you've got some serious explaining to do."

"If someone doesn't tell me what's going on right now, I'm going to scream," Niles added.

Maxwell ignored them both, his attention focused on the woman in front of him. "Did you do it?" he asked.

Fran nodded, "I did."

"So that's it? David knows?"

"He knows everything," she confirmed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Brighton asked, he and Niles looking at the couple accusingly.

They shared a look, then she shrugged, "Well I guess there's no harm in telling them now."

"Fran and I are together," Maxwell announced immediately, catching her off guard. With a sigh of relief, "God, it feels so good to get that off my chest."

"Well I figured," his son rolled his eyes. "How long has this been going on?"

"Five months," she admitted.

" _Five months?!_ " he exclaimed. "But you're married."

"I know," Fran frowned. "Actually, I'm separated now technically." As much as she loved Maxwell and didn't regret any of the time they had spent together, she wasn't proud of the fact that she had cheated on her husband- even if he had also been cheating on her at the same time.

"How did David take it?" Max asked.

"Very well actually," she commented. "But he didn't really have any right to be mad considering that I had just caught him having sex with some young, blonde intern."

He gave her a puzzled look, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Turns out, he was having an affair too. For the last eight months."

"You're kidding?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"Darling, I'm sorry," Max remarked, not knowing if she was upset about this or not.

"It's fine, we ended things on good terms," Fran told him. "It was actually kind of funny in a really messed up way."

"I can't believe this," Niles shook his head. "All those years I tried to get you two together and you go and do it all on your own behind my back."

"It's almost as if our relationship has nothing to do with you. Imagine that," Maxwell commented sarcastically.

"Max," she scolded him gently.

Brighton interjected in disbelief, "I can't believe Gracie was right."

"What do you mean?" his father asked.

"She was convinced something was going on with you guys and I told her she was crazy."

Fran shrugged, "I'm not surprised. I told your father that you guys probably knew something was up. You're smart kids, you were going to figure it out."

"Wait a minute, this still doesn't answer the question of why you called Dad so late the other night," Brighton remarked. After a moment, he made a face and asked, "Oh God, that wasn't like a booty call was it?"

"Brighton!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"Well it's a valid question."

Max sighed, giving his son as exasperated look, "It wasn't a... _booty call_." When Fran giggled beside him, he asked, "What?"

"I was just thinking, that's probably the first time you've used that expression," she admitted with a grin.

"Fran..."

"Sorry," she remarked. She looked back to Brighton, "Look B, the reason I called the house the other night was because I was worried something was wrong...with the baby I'm carrying." His mouth dropped open in surprise as she added, "Sweetie, I'm pregnant."

"I think I need to lie down," Niles commented, leaning against the couch to support himself. He couldn't process so much news all at once. This was his dream come true. He couldn't wait to tell Miss Babcock.

After a moment of thought, Brighton asked, "Wait a minute, is the baby-"

"It's my baby," Maxwell confirmed. "So I guess you're going to have a little brother or sister in about eight months time."

"It better be a brother. If I end up with another sister, I'm gonna be pissed," he remarked teasingly. He leaned over to give his former nanny a hug, "I'm just kidding, congratulations guys."

Fran's eyes filled with tears at his kind reaction. She was so relieved the kids had both reacted well to the news so far. "Thank you B," she smiled, pulling away from him.

Brighton patted his father on the back and added, "This all should've happened years ago, but better late than never, right?"

"I couldn't agree more," Maxwell nodded, putting his arm around Fran's shoulders. She looked to him with a smile.

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door burst open and Grace entered the townhouse. She was about to head upstairs, when she saw everyone standing in the living room. "What's going on in here?" she asked with a puzzled look.

"I think you'd better sit down," Brighton started.

* * *

 **I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I've had a lot going on over the last few months. Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Divorce and Marriage

_Chapter 7: Divorce and Marriage_

* * *

Two months later, Fran was sitting on her parent's couch watching TV, her hand rested on her slightly rounded belly. She was now around fifteen weeks pregnant and had just started showing. It was finally starting to feel real that she was having a baby. Up until the last week or so, she had just been feeling like she had the flu.

Things were going well with her and Maxwell. Over the last two months, they had been dating, trying to be a real couple while at the same keeping a low profile since Fran had just separated from her husband. Fran hadn't wanted to move in together just yet. It didn't seem right to move out of her marital home and straight into Maxwell's mansion right away.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Fran got up to answer it, announcing loudly, "I'll get it!" Her mother was in the kitchen preparing their lunch and her father was in the den watching TV. She opened the door to find a man she didn't recognise standing in front of her. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Fran Roberts?" he asked.

"Yes..."

The man handed her the large envelope he was holding and told her, "This is for you. You've been served." And with that, he walked away.

"What?" Fran remarked, more to herself than anyone. She opened the envelope and took out the papers inside, quickly realizing what they were: divorce papers.

"Who was that?" Sylvia asked, emerging from the kitchen.

She showed the documents to her mother, "Apparently David filed for divorce."

She looked over the papers for a moment, before shrugging, "Well, you had to know this was coming. You're having another man's baby."

"I know, but it's still a little sad," Fran commented, setting the papers aside. "Two years of marriage down the drain just like that."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have slept with someone who wasn't your husband?"

"Ma!"

"Not that I'm not happy you and Maxwell finally got together after all these years," Sylvia said, making her way back into the kitchen. Fran followed behind her. "You know that man is like a son to me. I just feel sorry for David."

"May I remind you that he was cheating on me too?" Fran stated. "And for longer than I was cheating on him, I might add."

"I'm not judging. I just think you went about this all wrong, that's all," she told her, handing her a plate with a sandwich on it. "You shoulda ended things with him if you wanted to be with Maxwell."

"I know Ma, I know," she nodded, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "But what's done is done. I can't do anything about it now." Her hand came to rest on her belly, "I just want to focus on the positive side of this situation and that's this beautiful little baby Max and I will be having in six months time."

"Well I am excited to finally get a grandchild outta you," Sylvia remarked. She set her own plate, as well as the plate she had prepared for her husband, down on the kitchen table. She then made her way over to open the kitchen door, adding, "Now we just have to get the two of you hitched." She turned away from her daughter for a moment and called out across the apartment, "Morty, ya lunch is ready!"

She rolled her eyes as her mother sat down beside her, "That's not gonna happen any time soon. I can't even think about marrying Maxwell right now. I'm not even divorced yet!"

"So you're okay with my grandchild being a bastard?"

"What is this, the 1800s?" Fran asked. "It's the 21st century, there's nothing wrong with having a baby out of wedlock."

"But you should at least be living with your baby's father," she pointed out.

"Max wants me to move back into the mansion," she replied. "I'm the one that's been putting it off."

"Why?"

"I just felt weird moving straight in with Maxwell after leaving David," Fran admitted. "Plus I didn't want to rush things with me and Max."

"If you weren't currently carrying his child, I would agree with you," Sylvia started. "But you're being ridiculous, darling. You think living together is a big step? Wait until you have that baby. That little one is gonna change your lives a hell of a lot more than living together will."

She sighed, "I guess you're right. Besides, I should probably get settled over at the mansion before I get too far along in this pregnancy. I've got to move all my stuff over there, plus we need to buy things for the baby..." She gave her mother a worried look, just thinking about all the things they needed to do before the baby arrived.

"I think you need to talk to Maxwell," she told her daughter.

"I think so."

* * *

"So good news," Fran announced as she entered Max's office.

He looked up from what he was doing and smiled at her as she proceeded to sit on the edge of his desk. "Oh?" he remarked, reaching over to rest his hand on her knee.

"Well I wouldn't call it good news per se," she admitted. "It's good for us, not so much for David." Maxwell frowned at the mention of Fran's husband. She gave him a look, "Don't pout. I'm having _your_ baby, remember? You have nothing to be jealous about."

He sighed, "So what's the news that's supposedly good for us?"

"David filed for divorce, he sent me the papers this afternoon," Fran announced.

"Oh...I'm sorry?" he responded, not sure if she was happy or sad about this.

"It's fine," she told him. "I'm okay with it, really."

"That's good."

"It is," Fran smiled, taking his hand in her own. "So I think it's a good time for me to move in. If that's okay with you, of course?"

Maxwell grinned, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "Of course it's okay," he told her, giving her a quick kiss. "I've been wanting you to move in here for the last two months."

"Well I'm finally saying yes," she replied.

"Good, I'm going to feel so much better having you and the baby here," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I've been worried sick with you being at your mother's."

"I've been over here almost every day," Fran reminded him. "It's not like you haven't seen me."

"Still, it's different to you actually living here," Max pointed out. "Getting to sleep next to you every night and waking up to your gorgeous face every morning. Being there for every bout of morning sickness, every late night craving, every kick." His hand came to rest on her stomach, causing her to smile.

"We're finally gonna be a real couple," she realised. "No more games, no more sneaking around."

"That sounds wonderful," he smiled, kissing her once more. "How soon can you move in?"

"We should probably tell the kids first," Fran reminded him.

"I've already spoken with the children about this, they're so excited for you to move back in here."

"Really?"

Max nodded, "They've missed you."

"I've missed them too," she admitted. "And I missed you, so much."

"Not as much as I missed you."

Someone suddenly cleared their throat, causing the couple to look to the door to find Maggie and Michael standing there. "Hey," she greeted them with a smile.

"Hi sweetie, how are you?" Fran responded, heading over to give them both a hug.

"I'm fine. What about you, how are you feeling?" she asked, reaching over to rub her former nanny's belly.

"Very pregnant," she told her with a chuckle. "But good."

"We actually have some news," Max announced, giving his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Guess who's moving back in?"

Maggie looked between back to Fran, "You guys are finally gonna live together? That's so great! Not to mention very necessary, considering you're having a baby."

"So, will we be attending a wedding any time soon?" Michael asked.

"Oh God no, I'm not even divorced yet," Fran commented. "That's the last thing we're thinking about right now."

Maxwell's smile immediately dropped a little and he and Maggie exchanged worried looks. "Uh Fran, why don't you go show Michael your latest ultrasound pictures?" Maggie suggested. "He's really been wanting to see them."

She gave her a puzzled look, "He has?"

"I have?" Michael echoed, looking to his wife in confusion.

"Yeah he loves anything medicine related, his father is a doctor after all," Maggie lied, ushering them out into the hallway.

"He's a plastic surgeon, not an OBGYN," he remarked.

"Are you trying to get rid of us?" Fran asked.

"Of course not," she insisted. She added, "Now go," before shutting the door in their faces, locking it behind them. Once she heard Fran and Michael leave, Maggie turned back to her father and commented, "Dad, you have a big problem."

"I know," Maxwell replied. "I had no idea Fran felt that way about getting married."

"Haven't you guys talked about it?"

"No, but she's always wanted to get married. I thought she would be thrilled when I proposed to her," he said, taking a small, velvet box out of his pocket. "And I've already bought the ring."

"You know what? I think Fran's just feeling a little overwhelmed right now," Maggie started. "I mean, she's having a baby, plus she's getting divorced. She's got a lot on her plate. Maybe you should hold off on the proposal for a little while?"

He sighed, opening the box and taking a look at the diamond ring he had been hoping to put on Fran's finger very soon. "Don't worry Dad, you guys will get married eventually," she added, placing her hand on his arm comfortingly. "Just focus on the baby for now."

"That's probably good advice," Max nodded, turning and making his way towards the wall safe behind his desk. He took down the painting that covered the safe. He then opened it, put the ring inside, before closing it back up again.

He turned back to his daughter and she smiled at him, "Come on, let's go find Fran and Michael before they get suspicious."

"I think they're already suspicious," he pointed out. "You weren't very subtle about getting them out of the room."

"Yeah, I think I learnt my lack of subtlety from Fran," Maggie chuckled, causing Maxwell to laugh as well.

* * *

"So you're not going to ask Fran to marry you?" Rodney asked.

Maxwell downed the rest of his drink, setting the glass down on the bar. He gestured for the bartender to refill his glass, before turning to his friend, "I will eventually. I just don't think it's the right time. She said she's not even thinking about marriage right now."

"Probably because the two of you haven't discussed it yet," he pointed out. "How can you expect to be on the same page about marriage when you haven't told her what you want? She probably thinks you don't want to get married right now either."

Taking a sip of his new glass of scotch, he then replied, "I'm not sure I should be taking the advice of a man in his forties who has never been in a relationship that's lasted more than a couple of months."

"It's taken you almost nine years to get the woman you love to be with you and you did it by knocking her up, you're not doing much better than I am," Rodney remarked dryly.

Maxwell looked to him in concern, "Do you think the only reason Fran left her husband is because she's having my baby?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but it certainly makes life easier if you're in a relationship with the father of your child."

"So if the baby was David's, do you think she would've stayed with him?"

"I think you should be asking Fran these questions, not me."

"Well you've put it in my head now, thanks a lot," Maxwell grumbled, drinking the remainder of his drink in one gulp. "Now I'm always going to wonder if Fran really wanted to be with me, or if she felt like she had to because of the baby."

Rodney sighed, before gesturing to the bartender to refill their drinks once more, "I think we need another round."

"Desperately," he agreed, as the bartender poured him yet another drink. "And make it a double."

When the bartender had walked away, Rodney raised his glass, "I'd like to propose a toast. To you Maxwell, one of my oldest and dearest friends, congratulations on finally getting your girl."

"Yeah by getting her pregnant," Maxwell rolled his eyes, as he reluctantly raised his glass, "While she was married to someone else."

"Well, nobody's perfect."

"Rodney..."

"Don't listen to me mate, what do I know about you and Fran?" he asked. "Honestly, it sounds like that woman was in love with you for years. This pregnancy was just a convenient excuse to leave her husband for you."

"So you're saying if she wasn't pregnant, she never would've left him?"

"Well it's common knowledge that men never leave their wives for their mistresses," Rodney smirked. "I think it works the other way around too."

Maxwell frowned, "You're not making me feel any better."

"You know what? Why don't we stop talking about our feelings and act like proper Englishmen and just drink?" he proposed.

"Good idea," he agreed, as they clinked their glasses together.

* * *

Hours later, Maxwell returned home after having way too much to drink. This happened whenever Rodney Pembroke was in town. They would go out for a 'quiet meal' to catch up and reminisce about their college days, but somehow his friend would convince him to drink with him until the early hours of the morning.

He shut the front door behind him, opening the closet door and clumsily throwing his coat inside. He then began to make his way up the staircase, much slower than normal in his drunken state. He somehow found the door to his bedroom, opening it and letting himself in. Shutting the door behind him, he looked to the bed where Fran lay.

At the sound of the door closing, she sat up and whispered, "Max? Where have you been? It's almost 3am. I was about to send out a search party for you."

"I'm really not in the mood to talk right now," he replied, removing his suit jacket and tossing it onto the armchair near their bed. He then began to try to remove his tie, but couldn't seem to do it in the state he was in.

Fran got up out of bed and went to help him, asking, "You're drunk, aren't you?"

"A little bit," Maxwell confirmed with a nod. She frowned, purposely tightening his tie a little. "Hey!" he protested.

"Oops, sorry," she remarked sarcastically, before loosening his tie once more and roughly pulling it over his head. She tossed the tie onto the armchair with his jacket and got back into bed.

He quickly kicked off his shoes, then proceeded to unbutton his shirt. As he did so, he sat down on the bed beside her and asked, "Are you mad at me?"

Fran turned over and glared at him, "That's the understatement of the century." She sat up and poked him in the chest angrily, "You were supposed to be going out for a quick dinner with a friend, then you come home hours later completely schnockered without even calling to tell me you're gonna be home late. You could've been dead in a ditch for all I knew!"

He sighed, "I'm fine, Fran."

She rolled her eyes, "Well I know that _now_." She frowned, "What's gotten into you today?" He remained silent as he tried and failed to undo a button on his shirt. She sighed, climbing into his lap so that she was facing him. She moved his hands to his sides and took over unbuttoning his shirt for him.

Max gave her a suggestive look, bringing his hands up to rest on her hips, "I thought you were mad at me?"

He leant in to kiss her, but she stopped him, "Oh mister, you are so off the mark right now it's not even funny." After a beat she added, "I doubt you'd even be able to do it in your current state."

"Is that a challenge?" he grinned, pulling her closer to him.

"No, it is not," Fran replied, a reluctant smile creeping onto her lips. She finished with the last button of his shirt and began to take it off, one arm at a time.

He watched her take off his shirt, before bringing his hand up to rest on her cheek. "I really love you, you know," he told her softly.

She softened a little at his words and responded, "I know sweetie, I love you too."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she remarked with a sigh, getting a little tired of being kept up by a drunken Maxwell.

"If you hadn't gotten pregnant, would you still be with David right now?"

Fran's mouth dropped open, "What?"

"Would you still be with me today if you weren't having my baby?" Max asked once more.

"Of course I would," she insisted. "I chose you, Max."

"But was that choice influenced by the paternity of this baby?"

Fran paused for a moment, before telling him, "Honey I chose you the moment I decided to sleep with you, even though I was married to somebody else. If I wanted David, this thing between us never would have happened in the first place."

"I hadn't thought about it like that before," Maxwell commented. "But if the baby was David's-"

"I would still be here with you," she interjected impatiently. "Because I love you. Even if you're a shmuck who comes home at 3am drunk off his ass and wakes up his pregnant girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" he repeated with a frown. "I really don't like the sound of that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd much rather call you my fiancee," he admitted. "Or ideally my wife, but one step at a time."

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do," Max replied. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Marry me, Fran."

Her eyes widened in alarm, "No, no, no. This is not gonna happen this way."

"What?"

"Tell me you're not asking me to marry you on a whim while drunk?"

Maxwell shook his head, "It's not on a whim. I even have a ring!"

"You do?"

"It's in my safe," he told her, yawning as the alcohol finally began to catch up with him. "I'm keeping it there until you're ready to marry me."

"What? Honey, what are you talking about?" Fran asked, climbing off his lap as he proceeded to lie down. She knew he was likely about to pass out and she wouldn't get a response out of him.

"Goodnight," he murmured, pulling a blanket over himself.

She sat there for a moment, watching as he began to snore softly. She knew she had to do some snooping. She had to know if Maxwell really had an engagement ring for her in his safe. She got out of bed, put on her robe, then made her way downstairs as quietly as she could. She let herself into the study and hurried over to the painting above Max's desk, taking it down off the wall to reveal the safe behind it. She entered the combination- a number she had known off by heart since her early days of being the kids' nanny.

Opening the safe, Fran gasped when she saw a black velvet box sitting on top of the assorted items inside. She picked it up, opening it to reveal the beautiful diamond ring inside. She smiled, happy that Maxwell had been telling the truth about wanting to marry her. She was worried it had just been something he said in a drunken ramble. She shut the box and slipped the ring into the pocket of her robe, before heading back upstairs.

* * *

 **A recent rewatch of the series has given me the inspiration to continue with this story. Sorry for the long wait for this chapter!**


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